I'm Going To Marry Her Someday!
by Fly This Way
Summary: ON HIATUS. Will be put up as a new story in time. Thank you for sticking with me. Ever since James first spotted Lily, he had known she was special. This story follows James, Lily and the Marauders from the first Hogwarts letter until Harry is born.
1. And the Owl came flying

This is my first ever attempt on a fanfiction. Please, please review and tell me what you think, even if you think it's super bad. I need constructive criticism!

Some of it is taken from the Harry Potter books (in _italic) _but, I've shortened it a bit somewhere.

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**Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I don't own this plot, the characters or the places. I do, however own a little plush owl named Hedwig. :)**

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A boy was walking home after he had been in the park, hiding in the bushes. He was pretty tall and very skinny. It didn't help that he only wore too big clothes, because that's all he could afford - his fathers old clothes. He had quite long, black hair, which was incredibly greasy. He was very irritated with himself.

He had been planning this moment so long, and then his plan just backfires on him.

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_"Lily, don't do it!' shrieked the elder of the two._

_But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skywards with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared, like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly._

_ "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"_

_ "But I'm fine," said Lily, still giggling. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."_

_Petunia glanced around. The playground was deserted apart from themselves and, though the girls did not know it, Snape. Lily had picked up a fallen flower from the bush behind which Snape lurked. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster._

_ "Stop it!" shrieked Petunia._

_ "It's not hurting you," said Lily, but she closed her hand on the blossom and threw it back on the ground._

_ "It's not right," said Petunia, but her eyes had followed the flower's flight to the ground and lingered upon it. "How do you do it?" she added, and there was a definite longing in her voice._

_ "It's obvious isn't it?" Snape could no longer contain himself, but had jumped out from behind the bushes. _

_ "What's obvious?" asked Lily_

_Snape had an air of nervous excitement. "I know what you are."_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "You're... you're a witch," whispered Snape._

_ She looked affronted._

_ "That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"_

_She turned, her nose in the are, and marched off towards her sister, who had backed away and was now standing next to the swings._

_ "No!" said Snape, "You are, you are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong about that. My mom's one, and I'm a wizard."_

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As he started to slowly walk home, Severus Snape looked over his shoulders, and stared after the two persons emerging from the park.

You wouldn't have known they were sisters, they were nothing alike.

The tallest, Petunia, had frizzy blond hair, and a quite long neck. She was yelling at her little sister, ten year old Lily Evans, who just continued arguing back, her long, dark red hair flowing gracefully behind her as they walked.

She threw one last glance over her shoulder and saw the boy looking their way.

"Lily! You just can't talk to strangers like that! We don't know that boy, he could be bad! Lily, listen to me! That boy is weird, stay away from him. If you don't, I'll tell mom you jumped from the swing again!" Petunia was desperately trying to get Lily's attention, but the red-haired girl had stopped arguing, her almond-shaped green eyes confused and angry.

Why had the boy called her a witch? She was always nice to everyone, and she didn't know him! How could he just say that? Her emerald eyes were burning with tears now.

When they reached their house, Lily ran up to her room and shut the door. She fall asleep quickly, having a nightmare.

She didn't wake up before the next day. She was incredibly hungry; she had skipped dinner the night before, going straight to sleep.

She was on her way down to the kitchen, when she heard a noise.

The "cack-cack"-sound was coming from her window. Lily jumped straight back into the wall opposite of her window when she saw what was outside.

Outside her window, was an owl. It was cacking on the glass, wanting to be let in.

Lily ran straight down to the kitchen, yelling at her mother to come.

"Dear, what is it? There's no need to yell, my hearing is perfectly fine, thank you very much." Mrs. Evans said to her youngest daughter.

"There - is - an - owl - outside - my - window!" Lily exclaimed between short breaths. "AN OWL!"

That had Mr. Evans laughing.

"Lily, honey." he said chuckling. "Why should there be an owl outside your window! It's the middle of the day! And an owl. That's not often I hear!"

Lily started to get annoyed. Why wouldn't they believe her?

"Just come with me!" she said, dragging Mrs. Evans upstairs and into her room.

"Oh dear, you weren't joking! John, come up here for a minute! JOHN!" she called, a little nervously, when she saw the owl.

John Evans entered the room, laughter from before still visible in his face. When he saw the bird outside his daughters window, a confused expression took over.

"An owl? Here? What should we do?" he said, walking closer to the window.

Mrs. Evans had a frown plastered on her face, and was mumbling what sounded like "...in the middle of the day...owl...here...window...crazy..."

Suddenly a gasp came from Mr. Evans. His wife's head snapped up, while Lily just stared at him.

"What is it?" Mrs. Evans asked, cautious.

"It has a letter bound to it's leg." he answered, sounding even more cautious and confused than his wife.

"Should we let it in?" she asked nervously "I mean, it's been standing there for 15 minutes just cacking on the window. We have to do something. And what about the letter? Did it stand anything on the envelope?"

"Yeah, it's for Lily," he answered, sounding more confused that ever. "There's no doubt about that. Here, come and look."

Mrs. Evans walked to her husband and peered out the window. There, tied to the birds legs, was, indeed a letter. On the envelope, written in emerald green ink, there was an address, and, just like Mr. Evans had said, it was addressed for Lily.

"Should we let it in then?" asked Mrs. Evans. "I mean, it is addressed for Lily."

Mr. Evans slowly opened the window, and as soon as there was enough room to come in, the owl fled in, landed on the top of Lilys desk. As soon as it landed, it stuck it's leg out, waiting for someone to take the letter.

Mrs. and Mr. Evans saw from the bird to each other.

"Do you want to take it, John?" Mrs. Evans asked her husband.

"I can do it," said Lily quickly when she saw her father hesitate. "it is for me, anyways."

She walked to the desk, carefully trying to unfasten the string that bound the letter to the birds legs so she wouldn't scare or hurt the owl.

When she was done, the owl fled out of the window again, and was gone. Lily looked at the letter she was holding. In an elegant hand writing, the address was written on the envelope. No stamp.

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_Ms. L. Evans_

_The Blue Bedroom_

_Highton Ally_

_Mill Town_

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It was indeed addressed to her, she frowned. When she was 4 years old, her parents were going to paint the walls in the girls rooms pink, but Lily had insisted on a sky blue colour instead.

She opened the envelope, breaking the blood red seal with some kind of a crest on it.

Inside was two separate sheets. She looked at the first, reading it slowly so she wouldn't miss anything. While reading, the frown became more and more pronounced.

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_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1._

_We are aware that you would need assistance to explain and buy necessary school equipment, and are sending a representative from the school 15th July at 2 pm._

_Yours Sincerely._

_Minerva McGonagall, _

_Deputy Headmistress_

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"What is it?" asked Mr. and Mrs. Evans at exactly the same time.

"I don't really know," said Lily, handing the letter to her mother. "I think it is some kind joke or something. It doesn't really make sense."

Lily looked at the other sheet. This too, had the same unusual green ink.

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_Uniform_

_First year students will require_

_ Sets of plain work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Set Books_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_Other Equipment_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

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When Lily was done reading this, she gave it to her parents.

"Well, I can't say I understand very much of it," Mr. Evans said. "I guess we'll have to wait until 15th to know what it is. If this is a joke, I doubt anyone is coming, anyway."

"That's in two days," Mrs. Evans said.

Lily didn't understand anything of what the letter said.

"Well, who want's breakfast?" Lily's mother said after a while, heading out of the door and down to the kitchen.

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**A/N:** _If you're reading this it means you found the story entertaining enough to continue. Thank you for that!_

_This is, as I said my first attempt on a fanfic. Please review and tell me what you think. Also, I wasn't very happy with this chapter, but, I'm half-way done with the 2nd chap, and it's much better. I always find it hard to start a story, and it'll flow better as soon as we get to platform 9 3/4 ! ;P_


	2. The Pink Umbrella

Thank you to _**Miss Pattz**_, _**sweet326**__,_ _**angelinthesky-121 **_and _**TwilightFan926**_!

I just wanted to start with saying thank you, too those who reviewed the last chapter, and those who put my story on favorites or story alert. It means incredibly much to me!

This chapter is dedicated to my facebook-friend who turns 14 today! Congrats, sweetie! ***sings birthday song***

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**Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own this plot, the characters or the places. But I do own some bookmarks with the Hogwarts houses on!**

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The two following days went slowly by. Maybe this was because Lily was thinking about the letter she had got about Hogwarts.

When the day they were getting a visitor from the school arrived, Lily and the rest of her family (except Petunia, who had "more important things to do") were sitting in the living room waiting nervously to see if there really did come a representative from the so-called school they didn't even know if existed.

Suddenly, at 1.58 pm, there was a loud bang from the hallway. The three family members jumped up in surprise.

"Uhm, Lily, wait here," Mrs. Evans said. "Your father and I will go answer the door."

Lily nodded and sat down again. She could hear mumbling from the hallway, and footsteps coming her way.

Mrs. and Mr. Evans were the first to step in the living room, with somewhat scared looks on their faces. Lily soon understood why.

Trying to press himself through the door frame, was the biggest man Lily had ever seen. He had long hair and a huge beard, clutching a pink umbrella in his hands.

"So, yer Lily, aren' yeh?" he said.

"Well, yeah." Lily answered.

The man, no giant, was now sitting on one of the two couches in the room. He alone, filled up a whole couch, while the Evans family pressed themselves together on the other one.

"I'm sure yeh have some questions, right?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Lily said. Mrs. Evans hissed at her, and whispered "Don't be so rude, Lily!"

"I've forgotten ter tell yeh me own name!" he boomed. "Rebeus Hagrid, but jus' call me Hagrid. I'm keeper of keys and grounds on Hogwarts."

"What is Hogwarts really?" Lily was curious. The letter only said it was a school of witchcraft and wizardry, not what they thought you or where it was. It could be card tricks and nonsense for all she knew.

"What Hogwarts is? Didn't it say tha' in the letter yeh got?" Hagrid asked.

"It said that it's a school of witchcraft and wizardry. We don't know more than that." said Mr. Evans.

"Woulda thought they would explain a bit more, eh? Jus' don't send a letter an' expect ye to understand it all?" he said, shaking his head. "Hogwarts' a great school. There yeh'll learn all the things yeh would need to know 'bout magic."

"Magic?" asked Mrs. Evans. "I didn't really understand anything the letter said, except that it's a school and they would send someone to explain more."

"Here I am, ain't I?" Hagrid said loudly, which was the only way he talked it seemed like. "Yeh got the list with the things yeh need to buy, right?" Hagrid asked. "The best way to explain is to show yeh."

Lily took the list out of the envelope and looked at it again.

"Good. We're goin' to Diagon Ally. It's the only place yeh can get all the stuff without havin' to travel across half the country!"

Hagrid stood up from the couch and started to walk out, having to struggle to get out of the living room, again. Soon they were all outside the house, packed up and ready to go.

"Hagrid, how do we get to this – uhm – Diagonal Ally?" Mr. Evans asked.

"It's Diagon Ally," said Hagrid happily, walking a bit down the street, stretching his left hand out. "and we take the bus."

"The bus?" asked Mrs. Evans, skeptical. "Can you take the bus to a place like that?"

"BOOM"

Suddenly, in the street right in front of them stood a bus. Not a normal bus, and not a double-decker either. A purple bus with three decks. The Evans Family was shocked. Lily's eyes were huge, just staring at the bus, while Mr. Evans jaw had dropped right to the ground. Mrs. Evans held her hand to her heart, clutching her husbands shoulder.

A man in his 20's stepped out of the bus.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Harold Abbon, and I'm your conductor for this evening." he said in a dull voice, like he thought he had said this one too many times, and stepped inside again without looking twice on either of them.

"Come on," said Hagrid. "this is the fastes' way o' gettin' to London!"

When they had gotten inside and settled down, the conductor said, with a smirk, "Hold on"

It was indeed a bumping ride. One time, when the bus did a very sharp turn, Mr. Evans managed to fly, almost literary fly to the other side of the bus.

When they the bus stopped in London, everyone was feeling rather sick, and Mr. Evans sweared that he would get bruises from the many times he managed to bump into something when the bus did a sharp turn or stopped so suddenly they didn't have time to brace themselves.

"Thank you for the ride, Harold." said a rather green Hagrid, walking away from the bus and turning into what looked like a street you wouldn't dare to walk in if you were alone.

With a loud "BANG!" the bus was gone again. The Evans family followed Hagrid.

Mrs. Evans was feeling very sick now, and didn't dare to say anything, in case she would throw up as soon as she opened her mouth.

They didn't walk for long before Hagrid turned to his left and opened a door. It wasn't easy to spot the door, and they probably wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for Hagrid.

It was some kind of a resturant or inn; it was almost empty. The barman called at Hagrid, but he just answered "Sorry, Tom, Hogwarts stuff." and walked on to the back of the room, and through another door.

They came out in what seemed like some kind of little back yard. It wasn't a very pretty sight; it was just a patch of grass surrounded by brick walls, with weeds were growing everywhere, and a container in one of the corners.

Hagrid walked to the brick wall opposite of them and mumbled something neither of the Evans could make out. Then he took out his umbrella, and started hitting the bricks with it's tip.

The Evans family stood dumbfounded and waited, when suddenly Hagrid stepped back and managed to bump into Mr. and Mrs. Evans so they fell on top of each other.

"Sorry, I'm a bit clumsy, yeh see." Hagrid said. "Well, come on!"

When the family looked up, they saw that where the bricks had been, were now a hole leading to some kind of market street.

Lily couldn't take in it all. There were shops that sold all kinds of weird things, shoes that walked by themselves or tied their own shoelaces, small purses that swallowed pillows and books that ripped out their own pages and snapped at you if you got to close.

Lily was sure that you could find almost anything here. She could hear all kinds of people talking on different languages, and some kind of hooting sound to her left.

When she turned to see what made the sound, she saw a shop with owls. All different kind of owls; brown ones, black ones and white ones. Lily couldn't help but stare on a paticuarly pretty white one with brown spots on it's back.

"Come on, now! We have to go get yeh some money first!" said Hagrid smiling. Lily had to be honest with herself. She was still a little afraid of the huge man. He was very nice, he was just so big he was hovering over them all the time.

"We have money with us, Hagrid." said Mr. Evans.

"Yeah, but these shops doesn't take muggle money, yeh know. We have to excange them at the bank. It's right around the corner." Hagrid answered.

"Muggle?" said Lily. That was a word she had never heard before.

"Non-magical people" Hagrid answered, and continued to walk. They had to walk very quicly to keep up with his long steps. "This is Gringotts. It's the wizarding bank, highly protected, you would have to be mad to try to break in and steal something."

He had stopped in front of a huge, white building. Over the door, in gold letters, it stood "Gringotts Wizarding Bank"

They stepped inside, and walked up to the long front desk; hundreds of short, dark-skinned creatures sat behind them weighing coins or writing things down. They had unusally long fingers, pointed ears and long pointed noses.

"What are they?" whispered Lily to Hagrid.

"Goblins." Hagrid answered. "Very smart creatures, you wouldn't want to get one of those against you. They're very under-estimated in the wizarding world, you know. They're the ones who runs this bank"

Hagrid stopped in front of an extremly grumpy-looking goblin, who ignored them and continued to write.

"Ahem," Hagrid coughed, trying to get the goblins attention. He looked up from his paperwork. "This young lady would like to exchange some muggle money."

"How much?" asked the goblin slowly in a boring tone.

Lily looked up at Hagrid.

"How much would we need to buy all the school equpment?" asked Mrs. Evans.

"I would recomend about 45 galleons." said the goblin in the same, slow tone.

Lilys parents handed the goblin some money, and got some 30 big gold coins, 14 silver coins, and 27 small bronze coloured ones.

"That's 45 galleons, 14 sickles and 27 knuts back." said the goblin.

"Thank yeh Kaghuak." Hagrid said, and they started to walk out. "So, Lily. Why don't yeh take a look at tha' list of yers, and find out wha' yeh want to buy first, eh?

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**A/N: **Sorry if there is some mistakes in spelling or grammar here. I'm only 14, and English is not my native language. Please tell me if you noticed any major mistakes, so I don't make them again!

A page that have helped me a whole lot in this chapter is

**rephrase . net/box/hagridizer/ **and

**manu86 . livejournal . com**

(Take away the spaces)

I didn't want to publish a half-finished story where Hagrid didn't speak like he should, so.. I used the "Hagridizer" and the other page for extra things that could make it sound more like Hagrid.

**Please, please review! It means so much to me ! **

**Pretty Please? 3**

**Constructive critisim! I need it! Thank you! ^^**


	3. Cauldrons, Wands and Friendship

_**A/N: Hey! Took me A LOT more time then I thought it would, but, at least, FINALLY, here it is! ENJOY!**_

_**Thank you so much for last chapters reviewers! Much appreciated!**_

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**Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own this plot, the characters or the places. But I do own a wand I bought on the internet! It works! xP**

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"Dad, can I please have an owl! Please?" Lily said when she, her parents, and Hagrid reached the Owl Emporium. That was where Lily wanted to go first, of course, after she had seen all the beautiful owls they had.

"What do you say?" Mr. Evans asked his wife.

"Of course, Lily, dear." Mrs. Evans said. "You just have to remember to take care of it properly."

"Thank you so much!" Lily shrieked and ran into the shop.

When Hagrid and Mr. and Mrs. Evans came inside the shop, they found Lily staring at the same owl from before. It was beautiful; white with dark spots on it's back.

"I want this one." she said. "Can I please have this one?"

One of the employees walked to the exited girl.

"She's a real beauty, this one. Really smart too, always finds the right way." a girl in her twenties said admiringly.

"What do you want for her?" asked Mrs. Evans.

"19 galleons, 13 sickles." answered the girl.

"Ahh.." said Mr. Evans, and began walking out of the shop. "You pay for the bird, and I'll go exchange some more money. I have a feeling we'll need some more; there are a lot of things on that list. I'll meet you here."

"Yeh're probably righ'." said Hagrid, and then turned to the girl working at the shop. "I think this young lady would like tha' owl over there."

Lily nodded furiously, with a grin plastered on her face. She was almost jumping with glee, she was so happy; the bird was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.

"Okay," the girl laughed, and lifted the cage with the owl over to the cash register. "Do you have any ideas for a name, yet, sweetie?" she asked Lily.

"No. I'll think about it." Lily said.

"Okay, here you go. Do you want me to put some food and snacks with it?" she asked. When Mrs. Evans nodded, she leant down and pulled something out from behind the desk and said "22 galleons, 7 sickles, that is, please"

Soon, Lily was walking happily down the Diagon Alley, with her new owl. She had bought her schoolbooks, cauldron and telescope, quills and parchment, and all the things she would need for Hogwarts. Now the only things remaining were school robes and a wand. They were now on their way to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to buy her uniform.

"Mom, what do you think of the name Mira?" Lily asked. "It's short for Mirabella."

"I think it is a beautiful name, honey." Mrs. Evans answered. "Why do you ask? Did you think about a name for the owl?"

"Yeah. Mira kinda fits her, don't you think?"

"Yes, absolutely!"

They walked into the brightly lit shop, and a squat, happy looking witch came out of the back room.

"Hogwarts, right, dear?" she said with a smile. "Just follow me through here, please."

Lily followed the lady in to another room, where she was ordered to stand on a stool, and put some oversized robes on. The witch flicked her wand, and soon several tape measures, scissors and sewing needles and thread surrounded Lily, and started to re-size the clothes to fit her.

After about 3 minutes, another girl came in.

"Hi," said Lily. "I'm Lily Evans. Are you starting at Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," the girl said. "I'm Dorcas Meadows by the way. Which house are you hoping to start in?"

"Uhm," Lily answered. "I don't really know anything about that yet, I only got my letter two days ago, then Hagrid came and took me here."

"Me neither," Dorcas said. "I'm a muggle-born too, but Professor McGonagall explained everything for me. Who's Hagrid?"

"Hagrid is the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Who's Professor McGonagall?"

"She is one of the teatchers."

"So, what are these houses?" Lily asked.

"Well, Professor McGonagall said there are four houses that you live and have classes with, I don't know how you get sorted into a house. I think it was Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor." Dorcas said.

"That's cool. I wonder where I'll be." said Lily wondering.

"Me too." Dorcas said.

The squat witch came out of the back room again, and said to Lily she was done. Lily went to pay and say goodbye to Dorcas. She hoped they would be good friends at Hogwarts, since they were both muggle-borns.

"I guess I'll see you on the train?" Dorcas said hopefully; it seemed like she hoped the same.

"Yeah, it seems like so long, it's almost two months! I'm so happy I get to go, but honestly a little scared too."

"Me too. Well, then. Bye, Lily!"

"Bye, Dorcas!" Lily said, walking out to her parents and Hagrid, who had taken a seat at the café over the street.

"Mom, I met a girl in there, she's starting Hogwarts too! She seemes very nice, I hope we'll be friends!" Lily said.

"That's great, Lily, it's nice to see that you get along with people your age."

Lily had never had many friends, and the two friends she had was her sister and another girl three years older than her, but they were starting to grow apart. Lily's sister, Petunia, who had always been very poupular, seemed to be avoiding her now that she had gotten the letter from Hogwarts. Lily was sad because of this; they had always been such good friends.

Lily just nodded at her mom.

"Well," said Hagrid after a long minute of comfortable silence. "I belive yeh hav' a wand to buy, eh?"

At this Lily started to get exited again; buying a wand was the thing she looked the most forward to.

When they reached the wand shop, Lily's first impression was that it was a worn down, old shop. In golden letters above the door, it stood "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."

The inside of the shop reflected the outside – gloomy and worn down. Lily looked around curiously, staring at all the long, thin boxes lined up againts the wall stacked all the way up to the celing.

"Hello," said a deep voice, startling Lily. "here to buy your first wand, eh? I'm sure we'll find you the right one." Then he dissapared through some shelves with wands.

"There you go, ash, inflexible, twelve inches long with a unicorn tail hair core. Give it a nice swish." he said, handing Lily a wooden stick. She tried swinging a little with it, but Mr. Ollviander had already snapped the wand right out of her hand, and dissapared behind the shelves again.

"Try this one, mahogany, nine and a half inches, pheoniks tailfeather. Pleasantly springy." This wand was also snapped out of her hand, and switched with a new one.

"Willow, quite swishy, ten and one quarter, dragon heartstring."

Lily grabbed the wand, and suddenly, a warm feeling filled her, starting from her fingertips.

Hagrid started clapping, and Mr. Ollivander's eyes were glittering with glee.

"Congratulations! I think we've found your wand." he said, walking to the cash register. "It will be seven galleons, please."

Lily had never been so excited for school. She didn't know how to make the time pass, but mostly, she just read in her school books, or went for a walk in the park nearby, trying to avoid Petunia. She didn't really need to do that, as Petunia was avoiding her most of the time.

Today, Lily had decided that she would go to the park where the swings were; where she first was told she was a witch. She hadn't seen the strange boy since then, but she wondered. If she really was a witch, did that mean he really was a wizard? Maybe they would meet at Hogwarts?

Lily had settled down on the swing, and was thinking about school again, something she did alot since the trip to Diagon Alley.

"Hello," said a voice, startling Lily.

"It's you," said Lily, recognising the boy. "you're the one who told me I was a witch."

"Yeah," said the boy. "I hope I didn't offend you so much, or anything. I was trying to say it nicely, it sounded nice in my mind anyways."

"It's okay, I know you didn't lie." Lily answered. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way."

"Severus Snape." the boy said. "So you got your Hogwarts letter, then?"

"Yeah I did, I'm really excited. You really are a wizard, right? Would you be going to Hogwarts this year too?"

"Yes," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"So, tell me a bit about Hogwarts," Lily said. "What's the houses for example?"

"Well, there's Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin," he said, grimacing a little on the word 'gryffindor'. "but you ought to be in Slytherin. That's the best house."

"Hmm.." was all Lily said.

The next month, Lily became really good friends with Severus Snape. He was the one person who could really understand her, that she could talk to. Petunia hadn't spoken to her at all, even not during dinner when the whole family sat togheter. Therefore, Lily had spent a lot of time sitting under a tree reading her schoolbooks, or talking to Severus.

"Sev," Lily asked one day. "Is there going to be a lot of, you know, muggle-borns at Hogwarts? I met one girl in Diagon Alley, she seemed nice."

"Yeah, I think so. There is a fair lot of people from muggle families."

"Cool," she answered. "at least I won't be the only one. But, I'm sure I'm going to be the worst in my grade. I don't know anything apart from what I've read in the books, and it just won't stick in my head!"

"You're not going to be. Anyways, you're the smartest person I know, and thats saying a lot, seeing we've only been friends for a month."

"A month?" Lily said. "Not long until Hogwarts then... I don't keep track of time during summer."

"I can't wait."

"Me neither."

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_**A/N: Weeeee! Even if it took more time than I thought it would... (writers block. In the THIRD chapter + first week at school. GAH!) I'm actually very happy with this one!**_

_**Noticed any huge mistakes? Don't hesitate to tell me about them, please! I need to know so I don't make them again.**_

_**I got rid of my writers block, so next chapter will probably be up tomorrow or Sunday! YAY!**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think! Also, which chapter was your favorite until now? All reviews, either you thought it was good or horrible, is very much appreciated! Thank you!**_


	4. The Talking Hat

**A/N:**_ Ok, I lied to some of you. I sent a reply to a review saying it would be up in "1-2 hours." I lied. I couldn't stop writing, so it took some more time than I tought; so there you go! Almost 4000 words, twize as long as the three first! Haha, that's probably the longes chapter I'll ever write. Enjoy!_

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**Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own this plot, the characters or the places.**

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The last 3 weeks, Lily used on deciding what to take with her; clothes, muggle books, stationary, diary. She also spent a lot of time reading in her school books, and talking to Severus Snape.

He learned her everything he knew about Hogwarts, and the more he told her about it, the more exited she became.

While thinking about all of this, she patted her snowy owl carefully. It had grown to be very attached to her over the last month, and Lily loved her new friend very much.

"Tomorrow we're off to Hogwarts, Mira." Lily said, staring into the owls amber eyes dreamily. "I'm so happy to be going, but I'll miss Mom and Dad so much. I'll miss Tuney, I just wish she would miss me too."

Mirabella just hooted quietly, as if trying to reassure Lily.

"I hope I'll see Dorcas on the train. She seemed very nice. I'll probably be sitting with Sev, though, unless he finds some other friends." Lily said wondering.

She hoped she would be sitting with Severus, after all, he was the only one that she knew properly.

Lily sat on her bed, lost in though and just staring affectionly at Mirabella when Mrs. Evans called her down for dinner.

Lily was very quiet during the meal, still lost in her thoughts, which were far away, at Hogwarts.

"Lily," Mr. Evans said. "Do you have everything ready for tomorrow? We're leaving at 9.30."

"Yes, everything is packed and ready. But how do we get on the platform? The ticked says platform 9 ¾, but I've never heard of such a platform.

"Huh," Mrs. Evans said. "I guess we'll figure it out when we get there. We can always ask someone."

Petunia just huffed and excused herself from the table. Mr. and Mrs. Evans noticed Lily's expression.

"Don't worry about it, Lily," her father said. "Go get some sleep now."

Lily didn't sleep well that night. She was afraid of the fact that Petunia didn't talk to her anymore, that she wouldn't get any friends at school, and if she was going to be the worst in her classes.

"Hey! Sev!" yelled Lily and ran towards her friend when she spotted him at the parking lot outside Kings Cross. "How do you get to the platform? I think you forgot to tell me that when you told me about Hogwarts."

"Oh," said Severus. "Right, I'll show you."

Lily noticed that Severus didn't have his parents with him, but decided to not comment that. She wanted him to be happy today, after all, they were going to Hogwarts! Lily and her parents followed Severus, and they stopped between plattform 9 and 10.

"You see that barrier there? That is a magical gate of sorts. Just run through it. But, your parents can't come, it's only possible for wizards and witches to get through it. "

Lily turned to her parents, embracing them and promising to write and come home for Christmas. This just made her miss Petunia more. She had decided not to come with them to the station, and she hadn't even said goodbye.

"Do you want me to go first?"

Lily nodded; It sounded kind of scary, to just run into a solid barrier.

Severus rolled his trolley and ran for the barrier. Just as he reached it, he dissapered. Lily's parents stood with their mouths hanging open, and Lily just told them good bye again, and ran, with closed eyes.

She had a feeling she would crash, but when she opened her eyes, she saw a big, red train, standing on the platform named 9 ¾ .

She let out a breath she didn't knew she had been holding; This was it. She was really going to Hogwarts.

She found Severus and together they found an empty compartment. Mirabella hooted quietly again.

They looked at people leaning out the windows and waving goodbye to their families, the train rounded the corner, and you could no longer see Kings Cross Station, or any of the waving families.

"Is it alright if I, you know, go find some of my family friends?" Severus asked after a while.

Lily didn't want him to go, she only knew him and Dorcas, and she didn't know where Dorcas was. She just nodded.

"I'll be back soon." he said, leaving Lily alone in her compartment.

"Just you and me, Mira. But, we'll look on the bright side! We're going to Hogwarts!" Mirabella hooted in agreement. It was a reasurring sound for Lily. They didn't stay alone for so long, though. Soon the compartment door opened, and two boys came in. One was quite tall, with long, wavy black hair, and he was the most handsome of the two, though Lily thought that the other boy wasn't too far behind. He had incredebly untidy black hair, and hazel eyes sourrounded by rounded glasses. He wasn't as tall as the other boy, and quite thin.

Both sat down and stared at Lily.

"I'm James Potter." the boy with the untidy hair said, staring at Lily.

"And I'm Sirius Black." said the other one, but he was looking out the window. "You?"

"Lily Evans."

"So," said James, still staring at her. "Quidditch!" he turned to Sirius, and started talkin very quickly. "I got to play on the house team. It's a shame they won't let first years play. You like Quidditch, right? I love it, I don't know if I could live without it. I went to a game this summer with some of my father and my second cousin, it was great! You should have seen the moves the Ballycastle Bats keeper could do, didn't let in a single goal. So, which house do you want to be in? I want to be in Gryffindor of course."

"Me too, but my whole family has been in Slytherin. That's where everyone expect me to be." said Sirius gloomly.

"And I thought you were nice!" James said, laughter in his eyes. Soon both burst out laughing. Lily thought they were pretty stupid and annoying.

The two boys had been laughing non-stop for about 10 minutes when the door opened again. Lily was reviled to see Severus coming in and sitting down next to her.

"Hey, Sev, did you find your friends?"

"No," he said. "I'll go see again later."

"Well, now we're heading off for Hogwarts. Finally! Was it just me, or was the two last months way to long?" Lily said.

"It wasn't just you," James interupted their conversation. "Though I think the last three years or so has been too long, just building up to this."

"So," said Severus, ignoring James. "How do you think they're going to sort us?"

"I don't know." said Lily.

"Which house do you want to be in, then, Evans?" Lily really started to be mad at these guys who just kept interupting.

"I don't know, _Black_." she said, emphatising the last word. Sirius cringed.

"Please don't remind me." he said. "I hate my family, I don't want anything to do with them." Lily and Severus ignored him again.

"I told you," Severus said. "You ought to be in Slytherin."

Both James and Sirius snickered.

"What do you care?" Severus said angrily to the two boys who were now lauging hystericaly again.

"Do you," James said between laughs. "really, _want_ to be, in, in, in _Slytherin_!"

"Come on Severus," Lily said. She had had enough of these two. "We'll go find another compartment."

"Yeah bye, Snivellus!" Sirius said, falling on the floor in new laughter fits.

Lily and Severus took their luggage and went outside again, leaving the two boys rolling in laughter on the compartment floor.

They didn't find an empty compartment, but Severus found some of his friends that wanted him to sit with them, and Lily nodded and said she could go sit with someone else.

"Hey," said a voice. "Lily! Over here!"

A short girl with tan skin, straight black hair and dark eyes ran over to Lily.

"Hey, Dorcas. I don't have anywhere to sit, I had to leave the compartment I was in because of two stupid, immature boys." Lily said, rolling her eyes; The boys were probably still laughing over some unknown joke.

"You can sit with us, if you like? I've met some other first year girls." Dorcas said smiling as they went inside a compartment. "This is Mary MacDonald," she said, pointing to a girl with curly light brown hair and big, ice-blue eyes. She waved a little. "Marlene McKinnon," A tall, pale girl with straight brown hair and chocolate brown eyes smiled at Lily. "and Miranda Angel." Dorcas said, pointing to the last girl; she was also quite pale, and had wavy pitch black hair to her shoulders, and dark eyes.

"This is Lily Evans." said Dorcas, introducing Lily to the other girls.

Sirius and James had now stopped laughing, and were talking about the one thing that was the most important to them when the door opened and two boys peeked in.

"Is it alright if we sit here? Some 7th years took our compartment, so we don't have anywhere to sit." said the tallest of them in a low voice. He was very pale with blue-gray eyes and sandy brown hair, and was very thin.

The other boy was short and thick, pale, but not so pale as the first, and had very light hair and watery eyes.

"It's okay," said James. "I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black."

"I'm Remus Lupin." said the tallest.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew." said the small one, sounding nervous.

"So, we were just talking about quidditch! What's your teams?" James asked eagerly. "Mine's Montrose Magpies. I know they haven't won anything in ages, but it's a family thing."

Peter and Remus didn't have time to say anything before James launched into a full description of a match he'd been to with his father.

"So," said Sirius, after James was done explaining how the seeker of Falmouth Falcons had gotten an injury so she couldn't play for three months, and exactly what in Tutshill Tornados strategy was wrong so they didn't win the last match. "which houses do you hope to be in?" he asked the two newcomers.

"Uhm," said Peter. "I don't really know."

"I hope to be in Gryffindor, of course," said Remus quietly, picking up a book. "But I guess Ravenclaw is good too. I don't really want to be in Hufflepuff, and there is no way I would want to be in Slytherin."

"I like you," Sirius stated.

Remus smiled carefully. "That may change." he thought to himself, and his smile faltered.

"So," said Lily. "are there any more muggle-borns here?"

"You know I am." said Dorcas.

"Pureblood." said Miranda.

"Me too." Marlene said.

"I'm half." said Mary.

There was a moment of silence, when no one could think of anything to say. Marlene decided to break the silence.

"Do you like Quidditch?" she said with a broad smile. "I went to a game this summer with my second cousin and his father. It wad great! You should have seen it, it was the best game I've ever been to!"

"What is your second cousins name?" Lily asked, suspicious. It sounded an aweful lot like James Potter, and he had also been to a Quidditch game with his family this summer.

"James Potter," Marlene said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because James Potter is one of the most annoying, childlish people I've ever met. No offense or anything. He came in to my compartment with his friend, so Severus and I had to leave."

"Ah..." Marlene said nodding. "He is pretty annoying, isn't he? Who's Severus by the way?"

"He's our year, he lives down the street from me. I only got to know him this summer, though. It was he who told me I was a witch. I was so mad at him for saying it. When I got home later that day, there was an owl outside my window." Lily laughed at the thought.

"Why were you mad?" Mary asked.

"Because a 'witch' in muggle fairytales are ugly, mad people."

Everyone burst out laughing at that.

"What is your owls name?" asked Miranda, staring at the snowy owl admiringly. "She's beautiful."

"Mirabella, but I just call her Mira. Haha, kinda sounds like you, doesn't it? Mira could also be a nickname for Miranda." Lily said, smiling, also looking at her owl. "What's your owls name?" she asked Miranda, who was now taking down a cage with a brown owl in it.

"This is Ella. I love her, she's so smart, and she really is beautiful, compared to others of her kind. It's not a pretty owl species, really."

"I think she's gorgeous." Lily, Mary and Marlene said at the same time.

Miranda beamed at them. An elderly woman poked her head in the door.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Miranda, Marlene and Mary all jumped up and ran out of the compartment.

"Come on, you two!" Mary said to Dorcas and Lily. "They have chocolate frogs! Yummy!"

They all had loads of fun trying out Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Mary got a rather nasty one, which she wasn't sure what tasted like.

"We will be arriving at Hogsmead Station in 15 minutes. Please leave all luggage on the train, and it will be brought up to the castle for you."

"Oh, maybe we should change into our robes."

15 minutes later, everyone was leaving the train, and going out in the chilly air, the strong wind blowing their hair and robes around, and Lily heard a familiar voice calling; "Firs' years over her'! Firs' years!"

The five girls ran over to Hagrid, and he smiled at Lily.

"Everybody here?" he asked, looking over the crowd of cold girls and boys. "Good, well, follo' me! Yeh'll be able to see Hogwarts for the firs' time 'round that turn."

There was a lot of Ooohh's and Aaaahhh's when they saw the castle for the very first time. Everyone thought it was beautiful; hight towers with light shining through the windows, it was hovering above them, and it was really huge, but Lily felt at home as soon as she saw it. It felt safe and homey.

"Only 4 in a boat!" he said when they reached the lake.

Lily shared a boat with Dorcas, Miranda and Mary, while Marlene went to sit with three other girls.

"Watch your heads!" Hagrid yelled, and everyone had to duck their heads to not crash them in the walls of a rock tunnel.

Soon, they reached the other side of the lake, and the ice cold first years stepped out of the boat and ran after Hagrid; they had to walk three steps for every one of his.

Hagrid knocked three times on the huge wooden door, and it opened up, reaviling a strict looking witch.

"Thank you Hagrid," she said. James got the impression that this wasn't someone who you should mess with, he shared an evil look with Sirius, and knew that they thought the same; it was exactly what they were going to do.

In a few hours, he and Sirius had become as good as best friends. James hoped that they would get into the same house. He knew that there wasn't one person in the Black family that hadn't gotten sorted into Slytherin, but Sirius was different. He knew that, and so he hoped that they both would get into Gryffindor. Secretly, James thought that he wouldn't mind Hufflepuff, as long as Sirius was there. "I'll take them from here."

She led them through the entrance hall, and into a room to the left.

"I'm Proffessor McGonagall," said the witch. "In a few moments, you will go into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your house. The house you get sorted into, will be the closest you can get to a family while you are here. You will attend all your classes with them, and live in the same common room. When I get back, you will follow me into the Great Hall to the Sorting Cermony. You should use the few minutes you have to fix yourself to look acceptable."

With those words, Professor McGonagall left the first years, who was nervously straighting their robes, and wispering among themselves. Every one was wondering what they would have to do for the sorting sermony.

When Professor McGonagall came back, they followed her out and into a huge hall, with four tables where the other students were sitting, watching them with curiousity.

Professor McGonagall placed an old looking hat on the chair, and everybody waited. Suddenly, a rift in the hat opened, and it started to sing:

_This is where Hogwarts' story start_

_with Gryffindor, who was the brave at heart, _

_with the chivalry and the courage, _

_always longing to impress_

_There was Slytherin, who would rather find accivement and success,_

_who was only looking for situations, _

_where he could benefit_

_Ravenclaw, who searched for intelligence and wit,_

_and Hufflepuff, the one who cared for hard work, patience and friendship._

_When the school was done, they left me here,_

_and gave me the job to say,_

_in which house you would fit the best,_

_where you'd find friends and help each day,_

_So, watch out, and hold your friends near,_

_dark times lay ahead,_

_And remember one thing about this shcool,_

_there will always be help to get.  
_

The great hall cheered and applauded, until Professor McGonagall hushed at them.

"When I call your name," McGonagall said to the nervous first years. "You will walk up and sit on the chair, put the sorting hat on, and then, when you have been sorted, go sit at your house's table."

The professor started to read from a long list.

"Abbot, Jack."

A short boy with dark brown hair walked up to the chair and placed the hat on his head. After a few seconds, the hat shouted "Hufflepuff" and all the students burst out in applause and cheering.

"Angel, Miranda." Lily looked at her new friend and smiled, and Miranda stepped up and put the hat on. It took more time than with Jack, but at last, the hat shouted "Gryffindor" and everyone cheered. Lily noticed that the table to the left, where Miranda went to sit, cheered the loudest, and a few even stood up and greeted and congratulated her when she sat down.

"Black, Sirius." McGonagall said.

Sirius walked up, put the hat on, and sat down. He sat for the longest of time, and Lily could swear she saw him muttering under his breath, looking like he was arguing with the hat. The Slytherins had their hands raised, already ready to clap when he came to sit there, when the hat shouted out: "Gryffindor!"

The hall went silent. No one was clapping or cheering this time, but Sirius was grinning broadly and walking down to sit at the Gryffindor table. Suddenly, after he had sat down, the Gryffindors screamed and clapped and cheered so loud it hurt everyones ears.

After two Hufflepuffs, one Ravenclaws and one Slytherin, it was Lily's turn.

She walked up, sat down, and before the hat blocked her vision, she could see her new friends smiling encouraging at her she saw James Potter staring at her, his hazel eyes shining.

"Hmm..." a voice in her head said; the hat was talking to her! "You're not an easy one to place, are you? I can see wit, and lots of it. Maybe Ravenclaw would fit you. And friendship is an important thing to you, isn't it? Mhm... Hard-working. I think Hufflepuff would be a good place for you too, you would find lots of friends that are like you. But, ah... A great deal of courage. And quite a temper too, huh? I guess the best place for you would be Gryffindor!"

She noticed the last word beeing shouted out to the Great Hall, and, smiling, she went to sit beside Miranda.

The sorting took longer time for someone; sometimes, the hat shouted out the house as soon as it touched the persons head, and sometimes, ecpecially with Sirius, people sat for a very long time.

Sirius stood up and cheered when Remus Lupin was sorted into Gryffindor.

One after one, her new friends were being sorted. Mary first, then Marlene and Dorcas all joined them at the Gryffindor table.

When Lily heard "Snape, Severus" she looked up, and saw her first real friend walk up and being sorted. After about 10 seconds, the hat shouted out and he went to sit with his fellow Slytherins. For a second he looked extatic, but then he caught Lily's eyes, and looked at her with a sad look on his face.

At last, there were only 4 students left to be sorted. To Lily's great annoyance, James was sorted into Gryffindor to, followed by Peter Pettigrew.

"Yerin, Joanne" became a Ravenclaw, and "Zashal, Even" became a Slytherin.

A man with long beard and bright blue, twinkeling eyes behind half-moon glasses stood up and started talking about the rules of the school. Lily recogniced him from one of her school books as the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

"Now, tuck in!" he said, with a smile directed at all the first years.

Lily couldn't help but gasp when she saw it; their plates were now filled up with food. Lily ate so much she felt sick, and she didn't notice James Potter staring at her from the other side of the table. She was talking to Miranda about classes, and how good it would feel to just lay down and sleep now.

"Now that we all are satisfied, it's time to head for bed. The prefects will show the new students the way to their common room. Sleep well, and good luck with classes tomorrow." the Headmaster said when everyone was done eating.

A 5th year with flaming red hair and a smile plastered on his face, introduced himself as Arthur Weasley, and showed Lily, Miranda, Mary, Marlene, Dorcas, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter the way to the common room.

"This place is huge!" said Dorcas.

They reaced a portray of a fat lady in a pink dress, who smiled down at them.

"She may be smiling now, but she's usually very grumpy." said the prefect Arthur to the first years. The girls smiled a little, and the boys all errupted in fits of laughter. Lily and Marlene couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Quid Agis." said Arthur, and the portray swinged in to reveal a circular room with a fire place, armchairs, couches and portrays, moving portrays hanging on the walls.

"This is the Gryffindor common room," said Arthur, smiling down at them. "You will probably be spending a lot of your free time here. These stairs lead to your domitorys. The left ones to the girls', and the right to the boys'. Just walk up, and you'll find a door with a sign saying "First Years". You will find your pets and luggage there."

The girls walked up to their domitory, and the first thing they did, was change into their nightwear, and say good night.

"Well, Mira," Lily said to her owl, which was hooting tiredly at her. "We're finally here."

And then she fell asleep.

The boys were walking slowly up the stairs, and went inside their domitory. Silence filled the room completly, and Sirius was the one to break it, teasing the other boys:

"So... Any cute girls?"

James just sighed, laying down on his four-poster bed.

"Lily Evans,"

Sirius, Remus and Peter just stared at him. Then he said, in a dreamy voice:

"I swear I'm going to marry her someday."

The three other boys burst out laughing. But James didn't care. He meant what he said.

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**A/N:**_ Uh-uh... I didn't think about the similarities between the names of Mira and Miranda before now. Ohh, there's a lot of 'M's here! Mirabella, Miranda, Mary and Marlene! I promise you it's a coincidence. xD It didn't take too long for this chapter to come up! _***proud***

_I was thinking about splitting up the five girls, so one of them was going to be in a different house, but I couldn't do it. I love those girls, I've grown too attatched to them in the proccess of figuring out how they look and behave. So, all of them ended up in Gryffindor, it may sound a little... I don't know.. Unreal, that THEY were the ones sorted into Gryffindor, but, at least, now you know the reason. Lily's going to make some friends outside her house too.. But you'll see who when that time comes..._

_I promise James and the Marauders will be there more in the next chapters, a little more from their point of view. The thing is that, Lily didn't have any friends except Snape before school, while James became friends with Sirius, Remus and Peter straight away. The four of them is ALWAYS mentioned together, but.. What about Lily's friends? I felt like she needed a bit more to be in this chap. _

_Also, thank you to _angelinthesky-121, lilyflower666, CrazyTwilighter09, seeingthroughtheblack, Kitkatkatie16 and Miss Pattz_! (puh – don't think I'll write every review, favorizings and alerts the next time! xD) Am I talking to much? Man, that was a long authors note.. Sorry, lot that I felt I needed to say! ;P_

_I'm no song- or poem-writer, so don't kill me if the sorting hat song was horrible! Think about the fact this chapter is a lot longer then the others! Haha! _

_**Please Review**__ and tell me what you think! Pretty please? _***puppy dog eyes***


	5. Preview of next chap and AN

**A/N:**_ Ok, starting with this:Sorry about the incredebly SHORT CHAPTER! This is really more of an authors note.. With some of the story.. Call it a preview of what's going to happen in the next ones.. ;P_

_I know there probably was a lot of spelling mistakes, seeing the stupid auto-correcting turned on Norweigian instead of English, and I absolutely can't figure out how to switch. That's one thing about Mac's that I can't do. Anyway, thanks for those who noticed, and for those who reviewed, and I promise I'll try to notice them better this time! :)_

_A special thanks to angelinthesky-121 and Miss Pattz who has reviewed every chapter until now, and my bestest friend who always gives me ideas and inspiration! Love yoouu! ;P_

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**Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own this plot, the characters or the places.**

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About three 3 months after the term had started, the four Gryffindor boys seemed to become best friends. They were always togheter, laughing and joking over the pranks they had.

Remus Lupin was now laying in his fourposter bed, staring at the ceiling, his eyes red. He was the only one in his dorm that wasn't sleeping; Sirius was laying with half his body out of his bed, Peter was snoring loudly and James was talking in his sleep, muttering something like "catch it... it's there... snitch...quaffle...win...Lily...".

Remus smiled a little and shaked his head, blinking a few un-shead tears away from his eyes. He rolled around, got dressed, and headed for the

Sevral hours later, James woke up with a smile on his face. He had had the best dream ever; a Quidditch match where his team had won, and Lily was there to watch, kissing James on the cheek when he came down from his broom.

He looked around the dorm. He saw that Remus already was gone. "I'm going to visit my sick mother at home." was what he had said to his new friends, who all agreed that it was best to not ask anymore. Suddenly an evil grin formed on James face when he saw Sirius laying half-way out of his bed.

Sneaking out of his bed, careful not to wake anybody, he went to kneel beside Sirius' bed.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" he yelled, and began rolling on the floor in laughter when Sirius screamed and fell to the floor, head first.

"Ouch." he muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

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**A/N:**_ I'm sorry if the next chapter is going to take a while. _**_(Edit:)_**_ My grandmother died shortly after I wrote this.. I may be writing to take my mind of it, but I may not write anything.. We'll see.. Please __**review**__ and tell me what you think, even if this is extremly short!_

_Love, _

_Malin_

_(The Little Snowy Owl)  
_


	6. What am I going to do?

A/N: If you read the Authors Note/Preview last chapter, you'll see why I was unable to update for so long. Well, 12 days is too long for me, anyways.. I also had a huge writers block that nearly killed me. (Like, litterary killed me! I almost died of frustration and boredom!)

Sorry if I'm kinda mean to Peter Pettigrew in this story.. My hatred to him can't help but show. Uhm.. Yeah, you'll notice that in how often he will be the victim of some pranks, jokes and that he also is incredibly stupid. I know that Arthur Weasley did not go to school at the same time as the Marauders, but, I'm pretending that this is his and Molly's last year. (I know I wrote 5th year. But I'm changing it. xD) Was this Authors Note too long? I just needed to say this. ;P

Well, enjoy the chapter, and pretty please – review!

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, places or the plot of this story. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing the fantastic world she has created for the entertainment for both me and other fanfiction readers. **

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The first week at Hogwarts was both exiting and tiering for the new students.

ily had found out pretty soon that Charms was her favorite subject. The classes was very noisy, so she could talk with her friends. She really liked all the classes. It was something completly different from the boring maths and sience at the Muggle Schools.

Lily, Mary, Marlene and Miranda had just been to the girls room after Transfiguration, and they were meeting Dorcas in the common room.

"Hey, girls!" Dorcas said when they entered. "I'm far behind with the potions homework. We've been here a week, and we already get so much to do!"

"God, I'm not looking forward to fifth year." Marlene sighed as she pulled a thick book up from her bag.

"Why fifth?" Lily asked.

"OWL's year," she answered, and before Lily and Dorcas could ask, added "Ordinary Wizarding Level. They're a pain in the arse, I've heard."

"Oh... Well, we'll study as well as we can now, and I'm sure that it will be no problem. It's still 5 years until we have to take them, right?"

"Yeah," they said in unison, continuing to do their homework.

"I'm no good at Transfiguration!" Lily exclaimed, reading furiously in her copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguraton_, after she had practised on the spell they had been asigned as homework for half an hour; trying to change a match into a needle. She had only gotten it's end to become pointed and sharp, and a little shiny, which was not good enough for her. She was so good in all of her other classes, but she just couldn't get it!

"Lily, relax!" Mary shouted at her. "Seriously, you've managed far more than me,and almost the rest of the class too. Jeeze, it's Friday, can't the homework wait for a few hours? You're making me all tired and frustrated! Can't we just go up to the dorm now?"

"Yeah, Lily. Come on! It's the first week, we're not supposed to be so serious about it yet." Miranda agreed.

"What's wrong with being Sirius?" said a boy coming up to them. He had wavy, black hair and stormy grey eyes. "I'm Sirius all the time!"

"Go away Sirius," said Marlene rolling her eyes. "We're actually trying to finish our homework, unlike someone."

"We've done all of our homework, haven't we Remus?" James said, smirking. No one exept Miranda noticed him staring dreamily at Lily.

Mary, Dorcas and Lily just gaped at them and looked at Remus, who nodded his head.

"Okay, then," Dorcas said. "We're going up to our dorm, right girls?"

Once they had closed the door to their dorm, Miranda sat down on her bed and started to giggle. The other girls just stared at her questionly.

"What?" said Lily after a while.

"James Potter," Miranda said, still giggling. "He totally fancies you!"

"Uhm, what?" Lily said.

"Haven't you seen the way he looks at you?" Mary asked, now understanding what was going on. "Whenever he sees you, he get's this dreamy look on his face."

"I hate him." Lily stated. "He's an arrogant show-off. Just because he's coming from a wealthy pureblood family, everyone likes him."

"What's wrong with being a pure-blood?" Marlene said, a frown on her face.

"Nothing, it's just wrong with James." Lily said.

"Whatever." Miranda said, then whispered to the other girls, who broke out in giggles "I bet she fancies him too."

"James, could you be more obvious?" Sirius said laughing.

"Uhm, what?" James answered, still looking at where the girls had just dissapered up the stairs.

"Everytime you see Lily, you just stare at her. It's kinda weird, and it's very obvious that you like her." Remus said, not looking up from his copy of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_.

James just frowned. Remus started to pack his books, and headed for the stairs to their dorm.

"Where are you going?" asked Peter, when Remus started to pack his bags with clothes and books.

"I need to visit my mom." he said in a careful, low voice. "She's ill, and we don't know how long she has left. I'm going after dinner."

The three other boys looked at him with symphaty and sadness on their faces.

"Okay. You'll be back before Monday, right?" James asked, not wanting to ask too much in case Remus wouldn't want him too.

"Yeah." he answered.

They all headed down for the Great Hall to eat.

"I miss my broomstick." James pouted, as he helped himself with dessert. His pout soon became a grin. "I can't wait until next year! I have to be on the team."

"Which position do you play?" asked Sirius.

"Seeker and Chaser," answered James. "but I prefer Chaser. Have you played?"

"Yeah, a little. But my Mother won't let me play anymore. She took my broom from me and locked it inside her closet when I was nine."

James gasped. "What? That's just plain evil. Why?"

"I made my cousin fall down from a tree and land on her sister when she made fun of me. She broke one leg and a arm, and got quite a few scratch marks on her face." He grinned at the last part.

"Awesome!" James cheered, but then looked sadly at his friend. "Sorry about the broom-part though."

"It's ok. I probably got enough money to buy a new one without anyone even noticing."

James leaned over the table for a second, but the other boys couldn't see what he was doing. He pointed to a mug of pumpkin juice, an evil smile plastered on his face.

"Don't even try to drink that." he whispered, so low he wasn't sure they heard him.

Obviously, Peter hadn't. About two minutes later, the table was wet with the pumpkin juice Peter had spit out.

James and Sirius was roaring with laughter, and Remus' mouth was twitching a bit.

"I told you," James said between laughs. "not to drink it! I put salt and pepper in it."

"It tastes aweful!" Peter squeaked and ran away from the table.

An hour later, Remus was talkin quietly with Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.

"It's going to be ok, Mr. Lupin." she said, comforting Remus, who was sitting in a bed, his eyes slightly wet with tears. "The Headmaster has everything prepared."

"Yeah, I know that. This is just the first time, you know, away from home."

"We will take good care of you, Mr. Lupin."

Remus smiled a little. "Thank you."

Together they walked outside, towards the newly planted Willow near the Forbidden Forest.

"I'm so bored!" Sirius whined. He, James and Peter was sitting on their beds in their dorm. Suddenly, James grinned, and his eyes twinkled.

"What would you say to going exploring the castle?" Now Sirius was grinning too.

"But, what about Filch?" Peter said.

"Forget him!" James said, digging through his things. He found what he was looking for and held it up for the others to see.

"Is that what I think it is?" Sirius asked, staring at the silvery grey fabric with huge eyes. "Merlin, you own an invisibility cloak!"

"Yeah. My father gave it to me right before term started. It's been in the family for generations." James smiled.

"But, as much as I'd like to try it and go to the kitchens for food, don't you think we should wait until Remus is back?"

"How can you be hungry now? We just ate! But, you're right. It would be kinda mean to go behind his back." James said. "I feel really bad for him. His mom must be seriously ill if he goes to visit him the first week of school."

"Yeah, but it's getting late. I say we go to sleep now. I'm tired." Peter said and yawned.

The girls were still giggling when Lily walked out of the bathroom.

"God, can you stop giggling?" she said annoyed.

"Why can't you see that he likes you?" Dorcas said.

"Because, I don't know him, and anyways, I don't like him." Lily said in a matter-of-fact voice. "We're 11 years old. Does it really matter?"

"Yes." said the four girls.

"Whatever." Lily said, laying down on her bed, dragging her potions book up from her school bag and started on the homework Professor Slughorn had assigned them.

In the morning, Lily headed down to the common room. The other girls were still fast asleep, and Lily took the chance to do the left-over homework from the day before without someone disturbing.

She was just finishing when someone yelled "LILY!" from behind her. Lily screamed and dropped her homework.

"Did you have to do that?" she yelled at him, picking up her books from the floor.

"James did it on me," Sirius shrugged and grinned broadly down at her. "and you were sitting here alone. A perfect target. So, yes, I actually did."

Lily rolled her eyes. James and Peter were now coming down the stairs from their dorm. James was rubbing his eyes, his hair pointing in every direction – as usual, and Peter was walking towards the closest sitting area; he stumbled in the thick red carpets and fell into a chair. Lily had to stiffle a laugh at the sleepy boys.

"I'm hungry." Sirius stated.

"You're always hungry." James said, laying down on the couch. " I've known you for 5 days, and I know that, so that's saying something."

"Yeah, but, I'm seriously hungry!" he whined. "Does any of you know where the kitchens are?"

"Yes, but can't you just wait for breakfast? One hour?" James said sleepily.

"No." Sirius pouted.

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No, no, no!"

"And there goes my peaceful morning." Lily sighed. Slamming her books together and putting away her things, she walked up to her dorm again.

"What's wrong with her?" Peter asked.

"I don't think she likes us very much." Sirius said, which made James pout.

"Who's owl is that? Why isn't it coming with the other owls later?" Peter said, pointing to the window on the other side of the room.

"Oh no." Sirius whispered, almost running across the room to open the window and let the huge, black bird fly inside. Tied to it's legs, was a thick, red envelope. With shaking hands, Sirius untied the letter, and opened it. The voice they heard, was so terrifying and loud that Peter fell backwards out of his chair, and Sirius and James cringed back in theirs.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" the voice shrieked. "HOW COULD YOU DISRESPECT YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS! BEING PUT IN _GRYFFINDOR_ IS BAD ENOUGH, BUT FOR YOUR FATHER AND ME TO FIND OUT SECOND HAND FROM YOUR COUSIN IS NOT TORELABLE! DID YOU THINK YOU COULD AVOID US FINDING OUT BY NOT SENDING AN OWL? YOU HAVE DISRESPECTED THE NAME OF BLACK! WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT YOU DID NOT AGREE WITH US ON SOME THINGS, BUT THIS IS CROSSING THE LINE! YOU ARE A HUGE DISSAPOINTMENT TO YOUR FAMILY! JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME!"

When the Howler was done delivering it's message, the first thing Peter and James saw was Sirius disaparing up the stairs. James followed him, and found him laying under his bed.

"Sirius?" he asked. A muffled "hmph" was all he got as answer, so James just continued. "Please don't care about that. I don't really know what to say. I'm not good at cheering up people like this. Sirius, please. Say something!"

"I hate my family."

"Well, come out from under there, so we can talk."

Sirius rolled out from under the bed and lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"I was always the favorite son, you know. Nothing Regulus did could change that. But then I got older, and started to get my own opinions, a mind for my own." Sirius huffed and glanced over at James, who gave him a small, encouraging smile. He started again with a disgusted voice.

"I'm brought up to belive that everyone who is less than pureblood, doesn't deserve to live. That muggles, _mudbloods_, _half-breeds_, even halfbloods and _bloodtraitors_ is worth a lot less than purebloods. They always used those words, and I couldn't understand why. I was eight, and it was the first time I asked why they absolutely had to think so, when everyone was human." Sirius sighed, but continued. "My parents wasn't very pleased. From then, I started to stand up against them, instead of doing everything they said, and thinking exactly what they meant I was to think, I started to question them." He closed his eyes.

"I think that me not being put in _Slytherin_, like the rest of my _noble family..._" he hissed the last two words. "Well, I'm not looking forward to coming home."

"So," said James after a long minute of silence. "that was why you sat with the sorting hat on for so long. I could see you whispering."

"Yeah, I had to fight my way out of Slytherin. The hat wasn't sure where to put me, it said. But there was no way I would go to Slytherin just because everyone of the Black family has been there as long as anyone can remember." More silence.

"Do you want to go down and eat?"

"I'm coming later. I'm not so hungry anymore. Just go with Peter, and I'll meet you there."

James just looked at Sirius for a second, but went down to eat with Peter, leaving Sirius to think.

"I just wish my family could accept me for who I am." he whispered, looking in the mirror. His features was a contstant reminder of the home he hated; his brother was the image of himself, only younger. He had his fathers grey eyes, and his mothers wavy, pitch-black hair. He sighed and went to find James and Peter.

The rest of the day went in a blur; dinner was more faboulus than ever, and everyone was chatting happily about their first weekend of the year. Sirius was still in a bad mood, and Remus wasn't back yet.

Lily and her friends was talking about the Charms homework. Occationally, she would glance over at the Slytherin table, and see Severus Snape chatting with some gloomy looking boys in his dorm. She hadn't talked to him all week, even when they had classes together, and it made her really sad. He was her first real friend, and Lily was afraid that they were growing apart just because of the house rivaly between Gryffindor and Slytherin. She supressed a sigh, and continued to chat with Miranda, which was quickly becoming her best friend. In fact, all the girls were becoming very good friends now, but Lily felt especially close to Miranda.

The three Gryffindor boys used the rest of the day annoying the girls until they went up to their dorm.

"Why doesn't she like me?" James pouted, when Lily had marched up the stairs without even looking at them.

"It may have something to do with the fact that she's trying to study, and we are disturbing her." Peter said. James just sighed.

"Will Remus be back soon, you think?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know." said James thoughtfully, his mind still on Lily.

Remus got back in the afternoon the next day. The other boys found him laying in his four-poster bed, under his sheets.

"Hey, Remus." James said.

"Hey." came a low, muffled voice. Remus sat up straight and carefully put away the sheets. The three other boys gasped. There was a deep cut from his eye to his neckline, and he had cuts over his shoulder.

"Remus, what the hell happened to you?" Sirius said in a low voice.

"I... Uhm.. I tripped and... Eh... Fell into my moms rosebush." he said in an unsure voice.

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital wing?"

"I have. Madam Pomfrey said it would heal over night."

"Oh. Well, are you ok?" James looked carefully at his friend.

"Yeah... I just need to sleep. I'm awefully tired."

"But, we haven't even eaten dinner yet!" Sirius said.

"I'm not hungry. I just need to sleep."

None of the other boys disturbed him after that. Secretly, Remus was thinking.

_Good. You'll only be scared of me, and then you won't be my friends anymore. Please don't find out! _One voice in his head was thinking, while arguing with another one.

_Please, just ask me what's wrong. I need you to understand. I need you to see me as who I am. Just, please!_

More tears streamed down his face as the three other boys walked down the stairs.

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**A/N: **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter will be up so soon you won't have time to miss me. I know exactly what I'm going to write, you see! ;P

I put a oneshot up the other day! Check it out! (Warning: DH spoilers) It's not long, but I would appreciate it if you read and reviewed it :)

**REVIEWS ARE LOVLY THINGS THAT I LOVE THAT MAKES ME UPDATE FASTER! :D**


	7. Family, Secrets and Friends

**A/N: **Man, I got to stop promising to update soon! Sorry, it took a little more time than I thought, due to late nights at school... That was incredibly boring, except from the fact that I made up with an old friend of mine! Finally... It was kinda boring to see each other every day, and not be able to do anything but saying a polite "hello."

Soo... Weeee! Finally updating! Sorry for keeping you waiting!

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**Disclaimer: I think it's pretty clear that I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would bring loads of people back to life. Or I'd still be poor, as there is no way to match the brilliancy of J.K. Rowling's writing. I'm merely playing with the plots and characters for the entertainment of others and myself. **

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_You are not alone dear loneliness_

_You forgot but I remember this_

_So stranger, stranger, stranger things have happened I know_

_I'm not alone dear loneliness_

_I forgot that I remember this_

_So stranger, stranger, stranger things have happened I know_

**Stranger Things Have Happened - Foo Fighters**

The next moths went on fairly quick, the first years thought. Lily, Remus, Sirius and James quickly became the best students in their year, though no one could understand how Sirius and James got through all the homework, tasks and assignments to be two of the best, and still managed to spend all of their afternoons laughing, joking and planning their next pranks.

The highlight was the Halloween feast. Loads of delicious food, candy, cakes. Sirius had spent most of the night trowing up after that.

"I hope you learned a lesson! Don't eat so much so quickly!" James had laughed, and Sirius had just scowled at him.

Remus had been visiting his mother every month. He usually spent two or three days there, and came back, sometimes with small cuts on his arms, which he always explained as tripping over things in his house. The other boys, or Sirius and James, that is, in the dorm began to suspect there was something more behind his cuts and visits to his mother, but they didn't know what, and couldn't think of a way to ask him.

Christmas was coming up, and all the boys were going home to their families.

"I don't want to go home." Sirius sighed when they arrived at Platform 9 3/4. He had asked his parents if he could stay at schoon, but the answer he had gotten was that he could not, and that they didn't want him to interfere more with the wrong people than he already was.

Sirius could see his parents waiting on the platform, but didn't risk to meet their eyes. In fact, he was really scared for what they were going to say when they were home at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"I'll write to you, alright? Maybe you can come over?" James said when Sirius was beginning to move towards his parents.

"Yeah, sounds good." he answered, forcing a smile on his face. James smiled sadly back. He knew that Sirius couldn't stand his family.

"Sirius." his father greeted him when he reached them, and held out his arm so they could apparate. Sirius felt the usual pressing and pulling of his body, and soon, they were at the doorstep of the house in London.

"Inside." his mother sneered at him. Sirius stumbled inside, and was dragged into the kitchen by his Gryffindor scarf. "Sit." Sirius did as he was asked, sat down and looked at his hands which were twisting nervously in his lap.

"So," his father began in a carefully calm voice, which scared Sirius more than if he was screaming. "who was the boy you were talking to on the platform?"

"Uhm... James Potter." Sirius said in a low voice. His mother hissed, and his father's eyes narrowed.

"I thought you knew better then to speak with bloodtraitors like the Potters." his father continued in the same voice. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you! This is not tolerable, Sirius."

"What's wrong with him?" Sirius answered; he was starting to get angry. Who were they to decide who he could be friends with?

"You know the Potters, Sirius. They are as bad as mudbloods."

"Don't call them that! They are as magical as us! One of the best in our year is a muggleborn!" He was now close to yelling.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! DO NOT TALK TO YOUR FATHER LIKE THAT!" his mother yelled in a high-pitched voice, making Sirius squirm in his seat and look down at his hands again.

"Now, we don't want you to be friends with that kind of people, Sirius. Your cousin has made really good friends in Slytherin, why can't you too?"

"I'll decide who my own friends are, thank you very much. You can't boss me around when I'm at school. James is my best friend, and he is much nicer than all the Slytherins put together. And I doubt that Bellatrix has any friends, by the way."

_SMACK!_

Sirius staggered back in his seat, and put his hand to his cheek, staring at his mother who was standing before him with her hand raised, an evil look in her eyes.

"Do not talk about your cousin like that!" his father sneered. "You should know your place. You are a Black, and you better start acting like one. You are a disgrace to this family!"

"I don't care about what family people come from," yelled Sirius. "or how clean their blood is!"

"GO!" his mother screamed. "UP TO YOUR ROOM! NOW! NO DINNER!"

Sirius, in his hurry to get away, ran up the stairs and slammed the door. He had to restrain himself from screaming out loud. He looked in the mirror, and saw the same face as always. His cheek was still red from where his mother had smacked him. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before, but he hadn't had any time to brace himself. He could feel tears of anger starting to form in his eyes. Don't cry. It's not worth it. He told himself.

He fell asleep on the floor that night. When he waked up, he found some food on the floor beside him. He rubbed his eyes, and grabbed some parchment and a quill, and started on a letter.

_James,_

_How are you? Please tell me when I can visit you. I can't stand being in this house much longer. My parents yelled a lot – nothing more than the expected there! Have you heard from Remus? I feel so sorry for him because of his mother, but is that all it is to it? I mean, how do he get all those cuts and stuff? Answer as soon as possible – you're the only one I can talk to right now._

_Sirius._

He sent the letter with the family owl, and started eating the food. It was cold now, but he didn't mind; he was too hungry.

He spent much of the day reading in his books. It wasn't something he normally did and he didn't enjoy it much, but there really wasn't anything else to do. Most of them was about dark magic and creatures, that his parents and relatives had gotten for him for the last ten birthdays of his life.

He looked up dragons, which was creatures he found really interesting, but it soon became boring. He thought about what his parents had said the night before, and could feel the anger boiling up in him again.

"Arrg!" he shouted and threw the book into the wall.

"Sirius, mother says you need to come down to the kitchen." Regulus said through the door. Sirius sighed, opened the door, and walked slowly down the stairs to the kitchen, where his mother was waiting for him.

"Sirius." she said in a sugar-sweet voice that Sirius didn't like, laying a plate with some sandwitches on the table beside him. Sirius took one, and ate silently. "Please think about what your father and I said last night."

Sirius wasn't in the mood to pick up a fight, so he just sat there, looking at the table, eating his food.

"Look at me while I'm speaking to you." She said, in a stern voice. "We only want the best for you, Sirius, but we are your parents. You need to have respect for us."

"Ok. Can I go up again now?" he asked, as calmly as he could manage, when he was done eating.

"Yes. You are exused. Think about what I said, Sirius." she said in a warning voice.

Sirius walked up to his room, and found the huge, black family owl waiting on his desk with a letter. It was from James.

_Sirius,_

_Are you ok? I asked my parents when you could come. They said you are welcome any time. I asked Remus too, but he can't come. I don't know what's wrong with him, but it seems a little strange, I agree with you there. I hope you answer soon, and I hope you can come._

_James._

He looked around his room. In the corner, under the window was the book he had thrown earlier laying on the floor, he looked at the page. Again, he grabbed some parchment and a quill and started on another short letter.

_Remus,_

_How are you? I can't wait until school starts again, I hate it here! How is your mum? Waiting for your answer._

_Sirius._

And another one.

_James,_

He wrote, very quickly.

_How often is Remus gone from school? I think I found something out. I'm going to ask my parents if I can come. I'll talk to you later._

_Sirius._

He sealed the two letters, and sent them off. With fingers crossed, he walked carefully down the stairs. He stopped outside his fathers office, took a deep breath, and knocked twice. The door opened slowly. His father sat behind his desk, and studied Sirius with the familiar grey eyes. Sirius hesitated a little at the doorstep.

"Come in, Sirius." his father said.

"Father, can I please go to my friends house?" Sirius said, in a low, careful, unsure voice.

"Which friends are we talking about here?" _Damn._

"Uhm... James, eh, Potter." It sounded more like a question. He heard his father take a deep breath.

"Father, please!" Sirius begged. His father narrowed his eyes and studied Sirius.

"Hmm... Alright. But I don't want to hear that you are talking to him when you get back to school. This is the last time, Sirius."

"Can I go this afternoon?"

"Don't push it Sirius. You can go tomorrow after lunch."

"Thank you, father." Sirius murmured.

When he got up to his room, the owl was waiting with an answer from James. He read through it and started on a new letter.

_James,_

_My father said that I could come tomorrow after lunch. Can you get one of your parents to pick me up at Grimaulds Place at 3 o'clock? I'll tell you more when I get there._

_Sirius._

The next day, the Black family was sitting together in the kitchen, eating lunch.

"Sirius, remember what I said yesterday." his father said. "This will be the last time I tolerate any contact with the Potters."

"Yes father, I remember." said Sirius in a dull voice.

Half an hour later, Sirius was standing outside, his books and robes packed. A loud "pop" sounded, and a man in his late fifties were standing before him. He was clearly James' father. He had the same messy black hair, and the same small nose.

"You must be Sirius." He smiled. "I'm Harold Potter, James' father."

"Hey, Mr. Potter."

"We will get the chance to know each other at the house. Take my arm, so we can apparate." Sirius did so, and yet again, felt the familiar pushing and pulling of his body. They appeared outside a big house. Most people would considerate it a small manor. Out of the door came a petite woman with hazel eyes and hair not unlike Lily's dark red.

"Hello, Sirius." she said smiling warmly at him. "I'm Kathrine Potter, James' mother."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Potter." Sirius said politly.

"Please call me Kathrine, Sirius. Mrs. Potter makes me feel so old!"

"But mom, you _are _old!" said a grinning James, stepping out of the house. "Hey Sirius! Come inside!"

They came inside a large hallway. It wasn't at all the same as number 12 Grimmauld Place, where it was dark and glomy, and pictures of the Black family's honerable members was hanging on the wall along with the heads of previous house elves. The walls were a warm cream colour, different coloured rugs were laying on the wooden floor, and family pictures hanging on the walls. Sirius couldn't help but feel at home straight away; he had never felt quite at home at Grimmauld Place, for some reason. He just didn't fit in there, he thought to himself.

"Why don't you two go up to James' room, and I'll call you down for dinner later?"

"Ok. Come on Sirius!" James said and dragged Sirius with him up the stairs. James' room was about the same size as Sirius'. A huge bed was placed in the center, and he had windows with a view of the yard. The wall's were white, but with many posters of different Quidditch teams. The Montrose Magpies' black and white colours and Gryffindors gold and scarlet dominated the room.

"So, what is it you found out?"

"Well," started Sirius. "I was reading this book... And, you know how Remus just goes home or something every month? That's four times since term started."

"Yeah, to visit his mother, right?"

"Yeah, he says so. But, think about it. He always comes back looking pale and he has these dark rings under his eyes, and all those cuts and scratch marks. Every month. At full moon, maybe?"

"No!" gasped James after a minute of thoughtful silence. "It can't be! Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. And that's not meant as a pun on my name."

"But," James said. "I mean... No... But, you're right... Kinda... But, Remus..."

"I don't think he is dangerous. Well, except at full moon, of course, but Dumbledore wouldn't let him in if he was. And, come on! It's Remus!"

"He is our best friend after all. And you're right. I really think you are."

"Should we owl Peter about it?"

"Nah, it's too risky. We'll just tell him when we get back at school."

Sirius stay at James' house had been fantastic. He had woken up on Christmas Day and found a small heap of presents from his family, who had given him the usual, such as sevral books about the Black family and other pureblood families, and from his friends. James had given him a copy of _Quidditch Through The Ages, _and both Remus and Peter had given him a nice amount of candy.

They arrived at Hogwarts the 1st of January. After a long, fulfilling meal, they were getting ready to go to bed.

"Why do you think Remus isn't here?" asked Peter. James and Sirius exanged looks, as if questioning each other carefully.

"Yeah... Ehm... About that..." began James.

"Well, have you thought about why Remus is gone so much?" Sirus asked.

"Yeah, to visit his mom."

"We don't think that's all there is to it. You know how he comes back with scratch marks and stuff like that. Well. We think he is gone every month. At full moon."

"Huh?" said Peter. Sirius had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, and James sighed heavily.

"Full moon, Peter. What's the first thing you think about when I say that?"

"Werewolfs." Peter said, and continued after a little break, in a slightly nervous voice. "Oh... I see... But, isn't he dangerous, then? Why do they let him be in here with us?"

"Merlin, Peter! Can you be more stupid! He is only dangerous at full moon!"

"Oh... Right..."

Neither of them said anything after that, they just laid down and tried to sleep. Neither of them could for a long time; they were all thinking about what they were going to say and do when Remus got back, which he did the next day.

Again, he was looking pale with dark circles under his eyes, and he had sevral cuts on his arms, but they were not as bad as those they had seen before. James couldn't hold himself anymore when they were done dressing and had woken up a little.

"Remus." James said in a serious voice. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Uhm... Eh... What?" Remus said.

"We know, Remus." Sirius said. Remus face was now drained of the little colour there was, and his eyes was darting quickly from one boy to another.

"How?" he whispered.

"No offense, or anything, but your excuses suck." He just stared at them with a scared look on his face. Then, to the other boys surprise, he leapt up and headed for the door. It took a second for the other boys to run out the door, down the stairs to the empty common room, and find Remus halfway through the portret hole.

"Remus!" yelled Sirius, grabbing Remus' arm and holding him back. "Where are you going? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Remus whispered, silent tears running down his face. He was refusing to look their way. "What do you think? I was able to go to Hogwarts, and no one would know about it. Now, I can't be here anymore. Let me go!"

"Remus!" James said. "Just listen!"

"I'm not a monster." Remus tried to make it sound confident and finishing, but instead it came out in a begging tone. "I won't hurt anyone! I'll go to Dumbledore and then I'll leave. Just, please, don't tell anyone!"

"CAN YOU LISTEN FOR A SECOND?" Sirius yelled, making Remus stare at him with wide eyes.

"Remus," James said. "we know about it, and we don't care. Do you hear that? _We don't care._"

"You don't _care _that I'm a... a... werewolf?"

"No." said James and Sirius simply, and Peter was still standing in the background casting nervous looks around the room. Remus sank down on the floor, looking out into the room without seeing any of it. James sat down in a chair, and looked over at Remus.

"You ok?" Remus just nodded his head.

"We have to go eat now, or we'll be late for class. I can't go to class with an empty stomach!" Sirius said, trying to cheer the other boys up.

"Thank you." Remus whispered, so low they almost didn't hear him. "Thank you for not holding it against me."

"Remus. You are our friend. Friends don't let each other down. We'll always be there for each other." said James.

"We'll find a way to make it easier for you." Sirius said.

"How?"

"I don't know. But we will."

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**A/N:** Don't you just hate Sirius' parents? I do! Arrg... I'm making myself mad while writing about them. ;P (I have a little problem with keeping myself from writing sad, happy and angry faces all over the story. Plus the hearts, of course! 3)

I'm feeling both good and bad for Remus. Don't you just love that boy? 33

I can see how many reading this story. I can also see how many people never getting past the first chapter. (I know, that's the worst chapter. I just wish they could give it a chance! It gets better! ...right?)

Ok, one last thing to say, which I discovered while writing the last chapter; My happiness depends on my imagination. ;P

**Can I get 5 reveiws? Then I'll update! :)**


	8. Important!

**BORING AUTHORS NOTE, I KNOW!**

**BUT, PLEASE, PLEASE READ IT, AS IT IS IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW THIS STORY!**

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_Imagine all the people, living for today_

**R.I.P JOHN LENNON**

**Happy 70th birthday  
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**Hey, guys…

I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to update for a while. There's a lot going on right now, with my grandmother recently dying, like I said in the AN/preview. My school is going to close down next year, so one more reason for not updating is that I've been busy trying to do what I can to stop that from happening.

So, the next chapter…

I don't really know when it'll be up. Maybe in about two weeks? Maybe even a month? (If that happens, I'm not sure I can live with myself! :O)

I have a little writers block, so that's pretty annoying. I've written about a thousand words on the next chapter, though. I just don't know quite where to go from here.

But, with a little help from my best friend, Senia (whom I recently, meaning last week, managed to convert to an Harry Potter fan! YAY ME! Haha, she thought it was boring, but then she read the books!Now she's starting on OoTP. HAHAH! It took her 5 days to read the first 4!),I'll manage to get started again. She's the best. She's my little idea bank, and you can always trust her to come up with something crazy that she needs to convince you to put in the story! LOL.

Nah, but I'm getting there.

Please, please don't be mad at me! I promise, I'm not, ABSOLUTELY NOT, abandoning this story, even if it takes me two months to get it up.

Until then, I appreciate every review I get. They inspire me and encourage me to write. If you haven't reviewed the last chapter, please do!

And, if you want to see something happen in the fan fiction, a certain prank or joke, line, lesson or ANYTHING. Just PM me. Please. I need all inspiration I can get.

Here's to my **_two reviewers_** in the last chapter. Awww... I just love it when people come back for more!

_**Angelinthesky-121 **_*jumps at you and hugs you*

_**SnitchDucky** _– I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for reviewing. It means a lot. *hugs*

DON'T MISS ME TOO MUCH!

**Love,**

**Malin**

_**The Little Snowy Owl**_


	9. Mustaches and Comfort

SOOOO sorry for the wait! I couldn't write anything. So frustrating...

Again, no idea how the spelling check is turned on...

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**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you might recognice from the wonderful works of J.K. Rowling. I do own... No, forget it... i don't really own them either... *sigh*

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"Lemme sleep! Gerroff meh!" groaned Mary, pulling her pillow over her face. "AHHRRGHH! MARLENE!"

"Ops!" sniggered Marlene while she sat the empty bucket down. Her chocolate brown eyes were twinkling, and she was grinning down at the now wet girl. "I didn't mean to!"

Mary sat up, and marched towards the bathroom.

"AHRG! This will take AGES to dry!" she yelled. "I don't know a drying spell yet! MARLENE!"

"Yes, my dearest best friend?" Marlene said, smiling innocently at her.

"Fix this. Now."

"But, dear Mary, I don't know how to do that."

"ARG! You're as bad as those boys!"

"Well, being James' second cousin has it's consequenses. I spend a great deal of time with him. You should get used to it!" Marlene said, still smiling broadly.

In the boys dorm, Sirius was rolling on the floor in laughter fits, which wasn't an abnormal sight. Remus was gone again, but this time the three other boys knew why. James was standing with trembling hands over a sleeping Peter. He was having a very hard time keeping himself from joining Sirius on the floor. He had to bite his lip to hold in the laughter while finishing the last touches of their prank.

It was 8.50 am, and their first lesson was starting in 10 minutes.

"Peter!" said James loudly, somehow managing to not laugh. "We have transfiguration in 10 minutes! Hurry up!"

Peter woke with a startle, and leapt up, putting clothes on, and running down the stairs after the two boys.

The three boys ran into the classroom, and settled down. James was almost laying on his desk, face down, trembling with the laughter he had been holding in.

"Would you please tell me and the rest of the class what you think is so hilarious, Mr. Potter?" said the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

James lifted his head enough from the desk to shake his head, look over at Peter with watery eyes and fall down on the floor in new laughter fits. The professor looked over at Sirius and Peter. When she saw Peter, her mouth started twitching.

"Mr. Pettigrew, I suggest that you get that mustache washed off your face."

Now Sirius couldn't hold himself either and fell down on the floor onto James. The whole class turned around, and soon, everyone exept Peter was laughing. He ran out of the door to the boys bathroom. As soon as the class calmed down, Professor McGonagal was serious again.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, that will be five points from Griffindor for disturbing my class."

The two boys just smirked.

When the class was demissed, they went to find Peter. He was still in the bathroom, trying to scrub off the toothbrush mustache. Without luck.

"Sorry, Peter, it's waterproof." Sirius said, trying to stiffle a laugh. James had to support himself by leaning on the door, so he wouldn't fall to the floor again in new laughter fits. Suddenly, the door was opened, and James fell backwards onto the floor. This only made him laugh harder, and rub his head.

"Sorry." said the smiling boy who opened the door. He looked like he could be a third year. He had tan skin, cropped black hair and green eyes. He chuckled when he saw Peter.

"If I were you, I would try _Scourgify_. Trust me, it's the only thing that helps." he smirked. "I'm Anthony, by the way. I'm second year."

"Sirius."

"James."

"Peter."

"So, who did this to you?" he asked Peter, still smirking.

"That would be us." said James, with a grin on his face.

"Good job. We need some more laughs around here." Anthony chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah." said the three boys, as he turned and walked out the door.

"Hey, Michael!" said a girl walking by.

"Hey." answered Anthony, sighing. "Please, it's Anthony."

Sirius looked over at James.

"Weird." he said.

"Sev!" Lily shouted, running across the hall. "Sev, slow down."

"Hey, Lily." Severus said, walking towards her.

"How are you, Sev? I've missed you."

"I missed you too. It's been ages since we've talked."

"Yeah, how is Slytherin?"

"It's ok. But, I wish you were there too."

"I wish you were in Gryffindor…" Lily smiled at him. She really had missed him. They hadn't talked in ages, not even in the classes they had together. "I miss talking to you like we did before school started."

"Yeah, me too."

"Do you want to talk tomorrow? I hear the weather is going to be nice. A little cold maybe, but, we can just sit under the tree and talk like we did before!" Severus beamed at her.

"That would be nice, Lily. So, we'll meet up after lunch tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah."

Sirius and Peter went to find Professor McGonagall, for her to try remove the waterproof mustache on Peter's face. James went back to the common room to start on his weekend homework.

"Marlene?" he said, when he saw her sitting infront of the fireplace, her arms around her knees and silent tears running down her face. His own eyes filled up with tears too, when she looked up at him. James sat down beside her. "You okay? Well, of course you're not... But... Arg! I'm not good at this."

"It's been three years you know... Today..."

"Yeah, I know. I remember too..." She leaned her head at his shoulder, wettning his robe with tears. He put his arms around her and cried a bit too.

"I miss her so much, James..." she sobbed.

"Shh... We all do, Marlene... I think it's time for us to go to bed now. Get a good nights sleep..."

"Yeah..." Marlene said. "James..."

"Mhm?"

"Do you think mom would've been proud of me?"

"Of course she would."

Marlene smiled a little, and put her face in her hands and dried away the tears.

"I got a letter from dad today... He wishes he could be with me today... And he says we're going to stay at your place for spring vacation next week."

"That's cool! Maybe Sirius is coming too, though. Is that ok with you?"

"Yeah, if he can stop trying to prank me. He should know that I'm pretty good at that stuff too by now. I'll get back at him if he even tries!" Marlene joked, and James laughed.

"Ok... Good night...Love you."

"Love you too... See you tomorrow."

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**A/N:** ahh... I love James. He is an idiot, but... I like him. Because there will always be douchbags like Potter! (If you haven't watched A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel. I RECOMEND YOU TO DO! It is absolutely hilarious!)

And NO. There is nowhere said that Marlene and James are second cousins. I made that up, because I felt like doing it.

Short chappie, but the next will be up soon. I have an idea this time, you see!

REVIEW? Pwetty Pwease?


	10. Tears On A Frame

**A/N: **I KNOW this is very short - and rushed. I just needed to put up a chapter. It's kind of a filler. i know. I've been sick. I've had a small problem sorting my head out after everything that's happened the last two years. Everything has just been bottled up, and I just... Couldn't take anymore. Then, when I finally felt well again, the exams came up. Then it was the Christmas preperations. And I discovered that the everything I had written in the long time since last time I updated, was deleted. Yeah, I've had a great few months, thank you.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from the works of J.K. Rowling.**

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"Hey Sev." Lily said, hugging her friend, shivering at the coldness. The sun was out, but it was still chilly outside, the last of the snow only just melting, and the wind still having the cold blow that sent splinches into their faces.

"Hey Lils. How are you holding up?"

"Good, I think... The Gryffindor boys are a pain in the arse, of course, but I've made friends. Well, obviously, you see them with me everyday. But Miranda really is nice. Marlene, Dorcas and Mary too. But enough about me, what about you? Did you make some friends?"

"Not really..." Severus muttered, really wanting to hear more about her. He didn't like talking about his problems.

"Aw, Sev, what happened?" Lily said, concerned for her best friend. "Tell me!" she added when he hesitated.

"Nothing, really... I just don't get along with them very well."

"Oh... Don't they like you?"

"So, Miranda. I've seen her with you. How's she like?"

Lily laughed, though frowned at the sudden change of topic.

"Miranda's weird. She can wake up in the middle of the night having a laughter fit over something no one knows what is. She's a really good listener, but I think she needs someone to listen to her too. I know many people seem to think of her as an unsocial girl, 'cause she's always sitting in a corner reading or something, but she just doesn't like letting too many people in... She likes having only a few friends that she know she can trust fully." Lily said, then added as afterthought. "Like I was."

She sat down on the closest bench after brushing away the frost covering it. Severus sat down beside her and took her hand. She looked him in the eye.

"Sev, just please. Tell me that you're doing fine in Slytherin. I hate to see you alone!"

"I am, Lils, honestly! It's just not the same without you."

Lily pursed her lips.

"Ok... Are you staying for spring break?"

"Yeah... You?

"Going home... Walk inside again? It's freezing here."

"Ok."

They walked over the frozen grass and inside the warm castle.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

"Hello, Marlene. How are you, dear?" Mrs. Potter said.

"I'm ok, auntie. I've just missed being with dad, you know. It's not the same without him..."

"I can understand that. Why don't you get settled in here, and then we can talk later?"

"That sounds good."

Marlene walked up the stairs to the spare room that had been hers since she was eight years old. It was painted in a sky blue colour, with green details.

She walked over to the bed and sat down. She looked over at the picture frame standing on the bed side table. It wasn't dusty. It never was. Marlene knew that her aunt cleaned the room everytime she felt it necessary. A few tears ran down her face again.

"I miss you mom." she said to the picture.

"James..." said Sirius, a grin on his face, barely visable through the cookies he had stuffed inside his mouth just a couple of seconds before. "Look at this!"

"The hair spell? I thought you knew about that one! Didn't I tell you about it last year?"

"No... You didn't! Come on! Let's try it!"

"On who?"

"Marlene of course! She is the only girl here!"

"Yeah, but... Okay!" said James, who was now grinning too.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

"SIRIUS! JAMES! ARG! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS ONE! I PROMISE YOU!" shriked Marlene, running down the stairs, pulling her now curly, cotton candy pink hair.

"Oh-oh." said James.

"What do you mean? It's funny!" laughed Sirius.

"I mean... She's not kidding. She grew up with me. She's as much a prankster as I am. Oh, man. We're really going to pay for this you know. You just don't mess with a girls hair. I promise you, I've been there before... When I was 6..." James shuddered and looked at Marlene with huge eyes.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Sirius was on the way down to the living room when he heard a quiet sobbing coming from Marlene's room. The door was slightly open so it was possible to look inside the room. He peeked inside and saw Marlene sitting in the window frame, staring out on the starry sky and the moon casting a dim light over the room.

"Marlene? Are you ok? What's going on? If it was because of that joke earlier, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you like that, it was just a bit of fun. I'm sorry!"

"Merlin, Sirius." Marlene said in a low voice. "It's not your fault. It's not James' either. Just... I don't know... I need to be alone... You wouldn't understand it..."

"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. But I'm not always an insufferable git, you know. I can be sensitive too." Sirius joked, and Marlene let out a little chuckle that was half way a sob.

"I don't know if I can tell you... It would be nice if you knew, but I don't know if I could... I don't know anymore... James hasn't told you anything then?"

"No he hasn't..."

"I haven't told you what?" said a voice coming from the door, and James stepped inside. When he saw the tears on Marlene's cheeks, he said "Oh... Well... No I haven't. It's not my story to tell."

"Well, I can't do it... I kinda want him to know... Will you tell it for me, James?"

"Uhm..." said James, looking nervously at Marlene.

"It's ok..."

"Uhm... I don't know where to begin...?"

"Why don't you start with three years ago?" Marlene said, closing her eyes.

"Eh... Well... We were 8 years old. Me and Marlene had been visiting my mom at St. Mungos where she works... We were going to go home with her, but we never really got that far... We were just heading out the door when..." he looked at Marlene again, as if asking her if he should continue. She was sobbing quietly into her arms, but she looked at him and nodded.

"Marlene's dad came through the front door of the hospital, with his wife in his arms... She..." James' voice was trembling, and he went to sit down beside Marlene. "She was dead... Killed..."

The second cousins were both sobbing, and James put his arm around Marlene's trembling body.

Sirius just stared at the wall with blank, shining eyes. A small tear was running down his cheek. A little "oh" was everything that came out of his mouth. They sat in silence for over twenty minutes. James excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Sirius and Marlene in silence.

"Marlene..." Sirius said, then hesitated a bit, thinking of what he could say. "I'm... I didn't know, I'm sorry. It's just... I... I'm here for you. You should know that. I know James and me are kinda gits at school and stuff, but I always do what I can for people I care about. I know I can't do much. But, I'm always here if you want to talk."

Marlene lent over and gave him a hug.

"Thank you Sirius..." she murmured, then looked up at him, studying his grey eyes a bit, but he closed them and looked away, biting his lip. She frowned a bit, but let it go.

"I'm always here too, you know... If you want to talk."

Sirius smiled weakly.

"I have the same problem as you... Where to start? What to say? I just can't tell people about all the shit happening in my life. I'm not ready to trust people with that much."

"It's okay... Just know that I'm here whenever you are. I don't know you that well, Sirius. But it would be nice if we could just put our differences apart at school, and be more like this. Try to be friends instead of enemies, you know?"

They chuckled a bit and smiled at each other. Sirius stood up and walked to the door.

"Good night, Marlene."

"Sleep tight, Sirius." Marlene said and turned out her light, falling into deep sleep.

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**A/N:** I'm up and going, up and _writing_ again, so HOPEFULLY, it won't be long until next chappie (PAYBACK TIME FOR MARLENE! WOHO! xD) is up. And hopefully, it will be less filler-like, and longer. Leave a review anyway? Thank you for reading. Again; Sorry.


	11. Back at Hogwarts

**A/N:** I want to say something about REVIEWS. I've gotten pretty many Story Alerts and Favorite Story's, but not that many reviews. Is it really that hard pressing the little button, and leave at least a little smiley? You have NO idea how much only THAT helps me write.

If you have any ideas or meanings about what should happen from here (I have a bit planned out, but not for the next chapters, it will be a while before I can use them.), PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me in a PM, or I will not be able to continue this story... I want it to, but I can't do that without ideas. And I hate stories that stop in the middle. That is NOT something I want.

Please PLEASE leave a review. They inspire me, help me on. I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU GUYS, OK? REVIEW? A SMILEY? A SAD SMILEY? ANYTHING?

Just ANYTHING that could tell me WHAT people want more of, like, what they don't like? PLEASE?

:(

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**Disclaimer: I do not own, in anyway, the works of J.K. Rowling.**

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Putting his head in his hands, Sirius closed his eyes and concentrated on the silent "dun-dun" of the Hogwarts Express. The other two persons in the compartment were just as quiet and thoughtful. James was tapping his fingers in a quick speed on his thighs, staring into the wall, while Marlene was watching the landscape slowly change as they neared Hogwarts.

The carriage ride from the platform and up to Hogwarts seemed awfully long, and all they wanted was to come inside the warmth of the common room.

"Are you coming, James?" Sirius asked, standing in the staircase looking over at James. He was standing by the fire place, warming his fingers.

"I'm okay. Just go up, I'll be there soon." Sirius frowned, but walked up to their dorm. James sat down in the big chair that was usually taken by one of the older students. He sighed, and closed his eyes, only opening them when he heard someone coming. He saw Dorcas walking up to him, and turned to stare into the fire.

"You're very quiet, James." Dorcas said, sitting down in the leaning chair beside his. "I'm not used to it."

James didn't say anything. The common room was empty, except from the two first years.

"So... Did you have a good time with Sirius and Marlene?"

James shrugged.

"It was okay, I guess." he said quietly.

"Hey, what's up? You're not usually like this!" Dorcas said frowning.

"It's nothing." he said, but added "Honestly!" when Dorcas raised an eyebrow.

"I don't believe you. But I'm here to listen if you want to talk."

"What is it with girls and talking? Everyone is supposed to 'be here for me', when they usually can't stand me for more than a minute! I don't understand girls." he said, throwing his arms up in frustration and frowning. Dorcas stood up.

"Okay. If that's how you want it. For your information, I don't understand boys either." she walked to the stairs and started climbing up them.

"Dorcas, wait! Sorry, I'm just not in the right mood!" he ran after her, only to land at the bottom of the stairs with a 'thump' when he tried walking up the stairs.

"Ouch. I'd forgotten about that." he said.

"Will you ever remember that the girls dorm is forbidden for us?" Remus chuckled, just coming down from the boys dorm, moving towards the portrait hole.

"Hey, where are you going?" James said.

"Library."

James sighed. _Should've known. Stupid question._

"Can I come with you?"

"James Potter? To the _library? _What has this world become!" Remus said dramatically, putting his hand to his forehead, gasping loudly.

"Heeeeeey!" James said, pouting.

"Just kidding. Come if you want."

"Are you mad? I'm not going with you to the_ library_!"

Remus sighed. He had been through this before with both Sirius and James.

"Of course not. See you later then." he laughed, walking outside. He heard James muttering on the way out.

"_Library...mad._"

He walked up to the library, thinking about the charms assignment they had gotten, and which books he wanted to find there.

After a bit of browsing, he heard saw Miranda a few meters away.

"Gaah" she said in frustration.  
"You could just ask someone for help, You know?" Remus asked with a little amused smile coming out from behind the bookshelf. Miranda jumped in surprise and said "Dude, don't scare me like that!" after a half minute, trying to get her heartbeat to slow down. Remus just laughed.

"Sorry." With a smile, Remus sat down on the left of Miranda. "What do You Need help with, Miranda?"  
"Who said that I needed help?" Miranda said, while pouting. Remus chuckled.

"Well, I sort of got under that impression after your 'Gaah' " She just scowled at Remus, but decided that she needed to ask someone. The essay was due the following day, and, well. She really needed help.

"Okay, mister super-smart-know-it-all, could you please help me?" Miranda said, nearly laughing, It sounded like something Mary could've said.

"You just needed to ask" Remus said smiling, and started to explain.

After half an hour, Miranda was finished with her assignment. With much appreciated help from Remus.

"Thank You for the help, Remus! You are an angel!" Miranda said proudly, looking at her done-in-the-last-moment-assignment.

"No problem" Remus answered smiling, putting his things back in his bag.

"WOW! What happened with your arm? " Miranda said shocked. Remus paled slightly, and pushed down his sleeve over the cuts on his arm.

"Nothing." Remus answered quickly, and hurried to collect all of his things, a little bit faster than necessary. Miranda thought about it. Should she ask more, or just let it go? Her mouth was acting a lot faster than her mind.

"Remus.. What are you keeping from me?" she asked quietly.

Remus looked really uncomfortable. "Miranda it's nothing. Really, I promise. I'm just a pro at hurting myself." He said with an akward chuckle. The laughter didn't reach his eyes.

"Okay, Remus. Please don't try and convince me that you're telling the truth." Miranda said to a frightened and confused Remus. "I'm really good at telling when people are lying or when they're telling the truth." she added with a smirk. Remus let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh.

"Well, I should get going." he said, with a small smile, and walked back to the common room. Miranda stayed, trying to put all the books she had used back in the shelves. She stood on the table leaning up to one of the bookshelves, trying to balance the six heavy books she held in her arms, and placing them, one after another, carefully on their right places.

"CRAP!" she growled when all the books fell out on the floor. She bent down, and started to pick them up.

"Need any help with those?" said a voice she had never heard before.

She looked up into dark face with big green eyes, untidy, cropped pitch-black hair and a big smile.

"Yeah sure, thanks." She said.

He sat down and helped her with picking up the books, and placed them on a table nearby.

"Thanks again. That's the third time that happened!" Miranda said, grimacing.

"Haha, I know that feeling. I think I did it at least 16 times in my first year." He said with a frown.

"Oh, you are in… ?" Miranda asked. He smiled.

"I'm in second year. Sorry, I haven't introduced my self. I'm Michael Anthony Frost. Ravenclaw. And you are..?"

"First year, Miranda Angel, Gryffindor." She smiled back.

"Pleasure to meet you." They said at the same time, and laughed.

"Well, thanks again! But I should hurry up before I become the victim of today's prank. You can't trust the guys in my year." Miranda said, frowning and laughing at the same time.

"I think I have met them.. James, Sirius?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's them. How do you know their names? You've been a victim, eh?" she said with a smile.

"No. I met them at the boy bathroom when... What's-his-name... Peter, I think, was trying to wash of his... uhm... moustache." He said with a laugh. "That was amusing."

Miranda laughed when she saw the picture in her head. "Trust me. It's not as fun when YOU'RE the one to receive the end of the prank."  
""I bet." he chuckled

"Well, maybe I see you another time. Thank you for the help, pleasure to meet you" Miranda said before she turned to the door and went to the great hall for dinner. When she arrived there, the other first year Gryffindor girls where already there, waiting for her.

"Hey Mira." Lily said, smiling. She had been home for the break, and this was the first time they had met in a week.

"Stop confusing me with your owl, Lily." Miranda laughed. "How was break?"

"It was alright. It was great being home with my parents, but my sister... She won't even speak to me anymore." she said, biting her lip, running a hand through her hair, like she always did when she was frustrated or sad.

"Oh, Lils. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. We can talk about it later." she smiled a bit, and went back to eating.

"This was very amusing and all, but can you pretty girls just finish eating so we can go and sleep?" Mary groaned, slamming her head into the table, looking up at Marlene with red, bloodshot eyes.

"Merlin, haven't you been sleeping, Mary?"

"Not exactly. I've been sick. Just finish eating. I'm tired."

Miranda looked over at Dorcas sitting over the table from her, and saw Michael Anthony walking into the great hall. He sat down at the Ravenclaw table, and saw Miranda. He waved a bit and smiled at her, and she waved back.

"Who was that?" Lily said, seeing who she was looking at.

"Ah, I met him in the Library just half an hour ago. He's a second year. Real helpful, helped me pick up the books that slipped out of my arms when I was trying to put them back."

"You did that AGAIN?" Dorcas said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what's his name?"

"Michael." Miranda replied.

"_Anthony_." Sirius corrected, coming up from behind her, making her jump.

"What's up with people scaring the life out of me today?" she shrieked, slapping Sirius on the arm.

"Ouch, what's up with girls and hitting?" he wondered aloud, earning him another slap. He sat down beside them, and said,

"Anyway, his name is Michael Anthony, but he prefers Anthony. He said so when I met him. Don't ask me why. Weird kid."

Lily rolled her eyes, and stood up, collecting her things and dragging Miranda with her.

"I want to go now, come with us if you want girls!" she said.

"Hey, hey, hey! Lils, not so fast! I want to go too!" Mary screamed after her, running out of the hall. Sirius just stared after them and looked at Dorcas and Marlene.

"Okaaaay. What was up with that?"

"Think about it, and tell me when you figure out!" Dorcas said with a wink, walking out after the other girls with Marlene.

"Lils! What's the rush?" Miranda said when they arrived at their dorm.

"Just tired, I just want to get into my pajamas and have a nice night, talking with you girls." answered Lily, throwing herself down on her bed, pulling her pajamas out, and pulling them on. Miranda sat down on Lily's bed.

"So, what's up with your sister? You seem so miserable." she said.

"She's got a boyfriend... And that has just made her worse than she was. She's completely ignoring me, Mira. Before Hogwarts, we were the bestest of friends."

"I know how it is. I had a period with my older brother, and we just couldn't stand each other. But now everything's fine again. Just give her some time, Lily."

"I'm not sure that will be enough... But, over to another thing... What's up with you? You've been spending so much time at the library the last couple of months!" Lily said, walking into their shared bathroom, pouring some water into a couple of glasses. She handed one to Miranda.

"Thanks..." Miranda muttered. "Just... Studying. I want to do well at school you know. And charms is not exactly my cup of tea."

"Hey, I'm pretty good at that! If you help me with transfiguration, I'll help you with the charms?" Lily said, smiling. She did very well at school, but transfiguration was not her favorite subject, and she had some minor problems at getting the things to become exactly right.

"I'm not _that_ good at transfiguration, Lils, you know that." Miranda said, moving over to her own bed. "You should probably ask James instead. Or Sirius."

"I'd rather get detention with Filch than that, and you know it." Lily said, making a disgusted face at her friend. "Please Mira?"

"Okay, I'll help you. What are your issues with James and Sirius, though? They're... ehm... Nice enough, aren't they?" Miranda said. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Ok, ok, you're right. But I'm sure they're not _that _bad. Just, get to know them instead! Remus is their friend, and he's very nice!"

"Hmm... I haven't talked that much to Remus. But I'm not throwing my time away at stupid pranksters." Lily muttered. "I'm going to bed. Talk to you in the morning, okay?" she said, pulling the curtains around the bed.

"Nighty." Marlene said, pulling her own pajamas on, and walking into the bathroom, making herself ready for bed.

* * *

**A/N:**

I think this is one of the best chapters. *sorry if you don't think so xD* Thanks A LOT to Senia, my best friend. She literally wrote one of the conversations (that I edited and made, uhm, kinda my own ;P) and gave me ideas for the others.

But honestly, I have NO idea what to do for the next chapter. Sorry that the whole story up until now seems so rushed. I haven't had a good year exactly, and the worst Christmas ever did not help me. I could write and write about it, but I don't want to bother you with my miserable thoughts.

But at least you're starting to see a bit more character in the persons here :P

Over to another case... REVIEW PLEASE. Leave some IDEAS in my inbox? I KNOW I have a few readers, who waits for me to update... You must have SOME meaning about what should happen? I need a little push in the right direction.

Hope you had a very Harry Christmas and... Happy new year!


	12. PLEASE READ THIS

Hello,

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has followed this story. You may be wondering where the hell I am? Three months without a word from me?

I'm sorry 'bout that.

Fact is, what I thought had been a difficult year just morphed into a new one which seems to be going down the same road.

I guess I should tell you about it. I love lists, so here you go:

- School is getting difficult to cope with.

- LIFE is getting harder to deal with.

- I found out I'm moving out of the country this summer.

- Pessimistic way of thinking.

- My self esteem seems to get close to hitting zero.

- My granddad is in hospital and I'm getting seriously worried about losing him as well.

Thank you for sticking with me, though.

What I'm going to do, is write some one shots to get used to writing again. Then I'll go back and edit and re-write this whole story and put it up again. I've gotten out of the whole thing, so I NEED to start over. BUT I WILL GET BACK TO THIS. I'm not giving up on it. Hope you understand.

I hope it won't be too long. But now you know.

Thank you so much for reviewing, following this story and putting it on favorites.

Love,

Malin


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